Twelve Months Of The Year
by ladierock
Summary: All Human: Rose and Dimitri are two people who feel they have everything out of life. Dimitri is a man who lives his life without his emotions and Rose is the girl he keeps on the side to use at his disposal. What happens when the safe distance they keep between themselves grows smaller with each encounter? Read and Review Please.
1. Chapter 1: Dimitri

**All Human: Rose and Dimitri are two people who feel they have everything out of life. Dimitri is a man who lives his life without his emotions and Rose is the girl he keeps on the side to use at his disposal. What happens when the safe distance they keep between themselves grows smaller with each encounter? Read and Review Please.**

**I've started a handful of Rose and Dimitri stories that I still have yet to finish. I've been writing this on the side and I figured it was a simple story that I can hopefully update more often than I have update the others in the past. **

**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns everything except the plot.**

* * *

_**Dimitri: January**_

"You love me."

Dimitri stood pulling on his shirt. He chuckled and shook his head as if this was the craziest thing he'd ever heard.

"No, Rose, I can assure I don't. This was a one time deal."

"You've slept with me twice now," she reminded him.

"And it was a mistake on my part both times," he told her curtly.

Rose didn't react to that the way all of the other women, he had slept with and then pushed away, had. Instead she laughed and rolled out of the bed herself. Dimitri watched, unable to take his eyes off of her bare figure, as she pulled on the strapless violet dress she'd been wearing.

"Fine then," she said, her back to Dimitri. "You don't love _me_ but you love having me around," she said her voice like velvet.

Dimitri chuckled again.

"Mmm…only at my mere convenience."

"That's not the impression you made a few minutes ago," she said haughtily.

Dimitri moaned at the memory and let the satisfaction show on his face and then his expression turned smug.

"You weren't too displeased yourself if I recall correctly."

For a moment Dimitri watched a light blush color Rose's tanned, creamy cheeks and then she turned away pulling on her underwear.

Rose was beautiful, a great lover, and she wasn't emotionally attached. Those were three qualities Dimitri looked for in a woman, especially someone to keep around, on the side, when his girlfriend Natasha was out of town having her own affairs.

It was the perfect arrangement.

Everyone was happy.

Or at least satisfied.


	2. Chapter 2: Rose

_**Rose: January**_

Rose didn't dare move. The moment was too perfect. The sun was setting; she could feel the rays on her bare back and the rise and fall of Dimitri's chest.

She always thought it was safest to never snuggle or cuddle during one of their tryst.

At least that's what Dimitri told her the first time this happened.

He made it one of his rules saying emotion was too messy.

Rose had been hesitant. She thought that being with a guy like Dimitri would be like all of the love stories she read about or saw on TV. She didn't show her hesitance though and always made it look liked she was the reserved, cold distant being Dimitri was.

She always wore a man-eating smile and as little clothes as possible to mask her feelings, that no matter how much Dimitri kept her at a distance (not including when they were in bed), she liked him.

She would've laid on Dimitri all night and day just listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. But as one of Dimitri's rules after they'd slept together they could never lay together longer than a couple of minutes to catch their breath, and even then it was too soon for Rose.

So she hid her emotions and instead decided to tease him about his coldness.

"You love me."

Dimitri sat up quicker than he had the first time. He stood pulling on his shirt. He chuckled and shook his head as if this was the craziest thing he'd ever heard.

"No, Rose, I can assure I don't. This was a one time deal."

"You've slept with me twice now," she reminded him. She couldn't hide the amusement in her voice.

"And it was a mistake on my part both times," he told her curtly.

Rose could feel herself flinch inwardly and the fact that he'd referred to their rendezvous as a 'mistake' but of course she didn't let it show. Rose feared that if she showed how attached she was becoming to Dimitri; he'd push her away permanently.

She was lucky that he had called her this time, a last minute thing on a Friday night, and that he was feeling needy.

Instead of letting everything she was feeling show on her face, Rose climbed out of bed herself; reaching for the dress she pulled on just for the occasion.

"Fine then," she said, her back to Dimitri. "You don't love _me_ but you love having me around," she said in a sultry voice but in all honesty she was hoping he'd admit that he like when Rose was around as much as she liked when he was around.

Instead, Dimitri laughed.

"Mmm…only at my mere convenience."

She decided she wasn't making in progress and that he wasn't warming up to her anytime soon so she'd have a little fun with him.

"That's not the impression you made a few minutes ago," she said haughtily.

Dimitri moaned at the memory. Rose turned at the sound and briefly saw a look of satisfaction show on his face and then his expression turned smug.

"You weren't too displeased yourself if I recall correctly."

The blood rushed to her cheeks. To hide her embarrassment she focused on pulling on her underwear.

She leaned back in one of the motel's (Dimitri always insisted in a motel because he said it made the tryst even less meaningful and that bringing his women into his home would only cause problems as it had in the past) comfy chairs and watched as Dimitri finished getting dressed.

He was exceedingly tall, almost at six seven from what Rose discovered when she had picked up his wallet the first time they met; he had long muscled limbs, a pair of deep brown eyes that weren't exactly astonishing except for the little flecks of gray in them, and a great set of hair. The best hair Rose had ever seen on a guy. It was shoulder length and fell in soft waves to his shoulders.

Even staring at made Rose feel like she was about to burst from the inside out.

She exhaled louder than she intended and Dimitri looked up from where he'd been buttoning his coat.

She could tell any fun she'd been having with him before was complete gone and that he was all seriousness and business now.

He tossed her coat to her across the room. She caught it just a she had pulled on her high heels. Standing outside of the motel door as Dimitri returned the room key she realized how cheap and used she felt. She had this familiar sense before but she had brushed it off.

Looking at Dimitri and remembering how good he had made her feel those few moments before, she brushed the feeling away just as easily.

* * *

"So…umm this was…"

Rose was trying to think of appropriate farewell words but there didn't seem to be any. This awkward goodbye was exactly as it had been last time except that Rose was still naked in bed when Dimitri had left the motel, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

Right now he stood in front of her scrolling through his phone.

Rose felt sure now that it was all business and that she was merely a brief fling and that Dimitri wanted to be anywhere but here.

"I guess I'll see you later."

She said it because she was at a loss for words.

She knew she wouldn't see Dimitri unless he needed her.

He glanced up briefly from his phone and nodded, putting the phone to his ear, climbing into his truck and starting the engine.

Rose turned on her heels and started her toward her car so that she could go home.

She lived on one of the modest parts of town, for middle class families, with her cousin Lissa.

It took her nearly an hour in traffic and when she did finally get home she climbed the stairs up to her room and collapsed on the bed.

She laid there for exactly two minutes before her bedroom door opened and she could hear the exasperation in her cousin's voice.

"You saw him again didn't you?"

Rose was lying on her stomach facing the bedside table but she could imagine the irritation on Lissa's face.

"Maaaaaaaaybe," Rose said in a singsong voice.

"Cut the crap Rose. Last time you saw him you came up here and collapsed, shoes on and everything," Lissa chastised.

Rose could feel her tugging off the heels on her feet and heard them clatter to the floor. The bed dipped where Lissa sat beside her. Rose rolled over and looked at her platinum blonde green-eyed cousin.

She was met with a disappointed stair.

"What's your deal Liss? I'm having a little bit of fun," she tried to laugh but it was hard to, given Lissa's deadpan expression.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt. It's a simple little fling."

"You could get an STD from this simple fling, you could end up pregnant, you could become depressed if he rejects, and he will because he's using you," Lissa listed.

"You're being over dramatic."

The truth was that Rose had thought about all of these things herself but the thrill and excitement of it all seemed to make it worth the risk.

"No I'm being over protective," Lissa sighed.

"I thought I was the over protective one," Rose laugh sitting up.

"I just want you to be careful. We're high school graduates now and the last thing we need to get off to a bad start in the real world."

Rose laugh outright at this and it took her a few moments to speak again.

"I've been waiting since preschool for school to end. The real world has already had its taste of Rose Hathaway." Rose stood to grab a pair of pajamas and take a shower. "I've done everything there is to do as an adult, the fun stuff anyway. We both have."

There was silence as she waited for her cousin to respond.

It felt like they'd both been through hell and back and that life still seemed to be eating them up and spitting them out.

Rose moved to kneel in front of her cousin. She stared back, wide-eyed and serious.

"We're going to be okay, Lissy. I've taken care of us for this long."  
Lissa gave a small smile and nodded.

"We have each other," Rose added.

"And Christian," Lissa piped in.

Rose groaned and stood up to head for the shower. She wasn't too fond of Lissa's rebel boyfriend. She thought Lissa could do better but of course she kept these feelings to herself.

Most of the time anyway.

"So how was it?"

Lissa called as Rose turned on the shower in her room. The lived in what used to be Lissa's family house and Rose was grateful for her own shower.

"How was what?" Rose asked teasing.

"You know what. I may disapprove of your loose relationship with this man but I'm still a girl who craves girl talk. Was it as good as the first time?"

Rose leaned on the doorframe that came led into the bathroom. Lissa was lying on her bed waiting expectantly for details.

"It was…better than the first time believe it or not but he was more eager to leave," Rose sighed letting the brief smile that she had at the memory disappear.

"You should find a real guy."

"Believe me Liss. This guy is real."

"I mean someone you can connect with-"

"We connected in the best way…and in three different positions," Rose laughed.

Liss made a disgusted face but smiled.

"I mean someone you can have a relationship with that can love you back. Like Christian and me. It could be so much fun! We could double date and="

Rose held a hand up to silence her cousin.

"Stop right there. You lost me at double date." Rose went into the bathroom and closed the door, climbing into the steaming shower. The hot water relaxed the sore muscles she had used that she didn't even know she had.

Lissa spoke from the other side of the bathroom door.

Lissa had always been the romantic. Rose preferred to keep her love fantasies to herself.

"All I'm saying is that you give it a shot. You're young, not bad looking," she joked.

Rose laughed.

"You might actually meet someone that actually wants to be with you," Lissa called, more serious now.

Rose couldn't help but vaguely wish it were Dimitri that wanted to be with her. Just as quickly as the thought had appeared she shook it away, running her face underneath the showerhead.

"I'll tell you what, Liss. You find me Prince Charming and I'll give him a shot but anything lesser than that, I'll pass."

Lissa laughed from the other side of the door. "I don't care if you act like your immune to falling in love. Everyone needs somebody and I'm going to find the perfect guy for you."

Rose laughed.


	3. Chapter 3: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"Where are you?"

Dimitri couldn't resist smiling. It was always funny to him when Natasha sounded angry.

They had made an arrangement that they could see other people without any jealousy so long as it stopped after they were married.

Tasha was terrible at hiding the note of jealous curiosity on the other end of phone, though and this always gave Dimitri a little bit more pride.

"I'm on my way home now," he said into the phone.

He heard a slight sigh of relief on the other end but he didn't acknowledge it.

"How's the _business_ trip?"

Since Dimitri owned his own company and Tasha was his assistant he knew Tasha's business trips meant she was meeting someone else out of town. It didn't bother him…much. It used to wound his pride a little that she needed someone else to make her happy as if he wasn't enough.

It used to bother him and then he'd remind himself that he did the same thing and his pride would rise just a little.

Tasha made an irritated sound on the other end of the phone.

"I'll be home soon."

She didn't sound too happy. Dimitri interpreted this as whomever she was meeting stood her up.

"Alright. I'll see you then I guess."  
Dimitri didn't really understand why she had called in the first place except maybe to check in on how often he might be with some other woman. They had set the rules, no jealousy but Tasha had been a little bit weaker than he was. It was in women's nature, he guess. They wanted to cheat but they hated the thought of their men with someone else.

With those words he hung up.

This was how most of their conversations went.

Dimitri drove home thinking about how his life had gotten to this point. He found himself doing this m ore often. He listed only what he considered the significant moments in his life and then he'd tried to forget it, telling himself that it didn't matter how he'd gotten here, it only mattered where he was going.

Looking back at the past seemed unnecessary.

Still lost in thought it took him a moment to realize his phone had been vibrating as he walked into his apartment.

"Ivan," he greeted glancing at the caller I.D.

"Please tell me you're not at home already," his longtime friend said.

"Why?"  
"Because there is this new bar downtown with twenty four hour sports, the best steaks, and supposedly the easiest women in town."  
"How did you even hear about this place?"  
Dimitri was always picky when it came to going places. He preferred either nice, dark, restaurants or just any place quiet and dark. He rarely went out with his friends to clubs or bars because he knew it would end with either an easy but lousy lay that he wouldn't remember by morning or he'd end up as the designated driver since his friends had deemed him the responsible one.

"My brother told me. So what do you say? Are you in or do you have a another hook up?"  
It was hard to believe that Ivan was a doctor that worked in one of the many clinics Dimitri owned.

"No I already had my 'hook up'," Dimitri answered unsure of his use of the word.

"With that girl that you met at the coffee shop? The one that bumped into you?"

"Yup. I've had my fill of the opposite sex for the day," he said ready to hang up. It was Friday night, he had his fun, and now he was sure there was tons of work that needed to be done.

"There is no such thing as over doing it when it comes to sex. Come on. It'll be fun. We can watch my brother strike out with women _and _watch the game with an endless supply of beers."

It was tempting.

Ivan's brother Evan had the uncanny ability of making Dimitri laugh whenever he failed in his pursuit of women.

"You've been neglecting your bros for either the girlfriend or your ho's. Whatever happened to ho's over bros?"

Dimitri made a face at Ivan's corny saying but he had a point.

"Alright fine, where's the bar?"

An hour later, Dimitri walked into what he considered a pretty cheap looking bar on one of the seedier parts of town. He spotted Ivan's light blonde hair already seated at the bar with two glasses of beer in front of him one of them empty. He was leaning over the counter talking to one of the two bartenders.

"You invited me to a place called the Dirty Double?" Dimitri said by way of greeting.

He sat beside his friend interrupting whatever pick up line he was using on the scantily clad waitress.

The waitress glanced at Dimitri with a double take and winked.

"I'll get you a beer," she said winking at both of them before disappearing to the other side of the bar.

The place was filled with what looked like a few regulars, bikers covered in tattoos, loose women, a few hookers he spotted in the corner, and a mix of lonely souls looking to get laid, drunk or both.

"Pretty amazing right?" Ivan said gesturing around the room.

"What's amazing is that I came," Dimitri muttered taking the beer the bartender set in front of him. She winked again and looked at both Ivan and Dimitri expectantly.

"Expecting a tip?" Dimitri asked.

Yes, he liked women; no he loved women but he preference for women that didn't look like their I.Q. level matched that of a raisin. The bubbly blonde waitress leaned across the counter between Dimitri and Ivan.

"Instead of a tip how about the three of us get out of here."

Ivan and Dimitri shared a confused look and then could practically here the ding as the light bulb went on in both of their heads with realization.

"Oh!" Ivan exclaimed.

He smiled at the waitress and they both looked at Dimitri as he sipped from his beer.

"He'll no!"

The waitress shrugged and slid her number to Ivan.

"Call me when he decides to join in."

She winked again and walked to the other side of the bar.

"The winking thing is starting to put me off," Ivan said leaning to get a look at the woman from behind.

"_That _is what put you off. Not the fact that she wanted a three-way?"

Ivan shrugged. "I'm open for anything."  
Dimitri laugh setting his beer down.

"There are very few things I wouldn't do in life and having a three way with you, or any man in general, is one of them," Dimitri clarified.

"Dream killer," Ivan muttered downing half of his beer. He swirled around in his stool looking as people came in or move around the small bar. "Not very many catches tonight," he observed. "I might consider taking my chances with one of the hookers."

"You're a doctor, in a clinic. You know what your chances of sleeping with one of those hookers and not catching something that will require the removal of your favorite appendage are. Besides half of those women look like men."  
Dimitri gestured to the big women, some of them dressed in drag, others wearing leather dresses and skirts.

"True but…like I said, I'm open for anything," Ivan smiled. "You used to be more open than I am. Did your girlfriend tighten your leash or something?" He chuckled.

"Do you really want to play this game? I've had more sex than I'm sure you have lately."

Ivan sighed leaning back on his bar stool.

"Good point."

"Where's Evan?" Dimitri asked once he'd stopped laughing.

"Last I saw he was hitting on a cougar."

"Was she at least hot?" Dimitri asked curious.

"Out of his league."  
They searched the bar, scanning the room for Evan. Evan was a few inches shorter than Ivan and Dimitri, he had both sides of his head shaved, and he tended to hit on women that were out of his league, especially when he was drunk.

They spotted him cornering a long legged girl who had just walked into the bar.

"With legs like that she is definitely out of his league," Ivan muttered.

Dimitri was about to agree but something occurred to him. He had that strange feeling that he knew those legs form somewhere. It sounded weird, even as he thought it to himself.

And then from across the bar he heard a familiar laugh.

He hadn't thought about her since they'd left the motel those few hours ago.

Evan shifted and he saw her in full.

"Rose."


	4. Chapter 4: Rose

_**Rose**_

"You're going to bed?"

Rose had walked out of the bathroom toweling off her hair.

Lissa was still perched on her bed shutting her cell phone.

"Liss, If you were in that motel room today you would understand why I'm so tired," Rose sighed rubbing lotion on.

Lissa sat up and swung her feet off of the bed. She ignored Rose's comment.

"Mia called. She just got a job at a new bar downtown and she wants us to come down there."

"Meaning she wants to show off," Rose laughed. "How'd she get a job at a bar anyway? She looks younger than we do. I'm guessing it has to do with the two lumps on her chest."

Lissa rolled her eyes and walked over to Rose's closet.

"Get dressed. I already told her we'd go and Christian is meeting us," Lissa instructed eagerly.

She pulled out one of Rose's jean skirts and a tank top.

Rose noticed for the first time that Lissa had changed into nicer clothes and straightened her hair. Rose sighed and pulled the towel off of her hair. She hadn't really hung out with her best friend much so she figured now was a good chance to make up for it. She dressed quickly and the two girls left the house and followed the directions Mia had given her. Lissa was driving unnaturally fast.

"I've never seen you so eager to go to a bar. It's because of Christian isn't it?" Rose asked glancing over at Lissa.

Lissa had met Christian during one of her and Rose's high school excursions to a club. He had figured out that they were using fake I.D.'s but didn't rat them out because he thought Lissa was cute. Ever since then they'd been inseparable.

"Well yeah but this could be a sign!" she answered grinning from ear to ear.

"A sign for what exactly?"

"You could meet someone tonight. I mean, what are the odds that Mia would invite us to a club tonight of all nights?"

"Pretty good. It's Friday, she likes to party and we usually go along with her just to get out of the house," Rose said dryly.

She realized she really was tired and wasn't in the mood to go out.

"I'm taking it as a sign. We are going to go out, have some fun, spend time together, and find the love of your life," Lissa listed pulling the car into a parking spot.

Christian was waiting for them outside of the bar.

He greeted Lissa with what even Rose considered a nice smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"Rose," he acknowledged.

Rose mumbled something of a greeting and Lissa shot her a look.

"You look beautiful," he complimented, twirling Lissa around.

He looked Rose's outfit over. "You look cheap."

"And you look like a jackass but let's not get mean," Rose said tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Not tonight you too. We're going to find Rose the man of her dreams," Lissa told Christian.

"This should be interesting," Christian muttered. "You should be satisfied that there are men out their willing to give a thing like you a chance and now you want to push your luck," he said to Rose.

"Lissa you used to date such nice boys. What made you want to start dating canines?" Rose directed to Lissa.

Lissa huffed at both of them.

They walked into one of the loudest bars Rose had ever snuck into. No one checked their I.D.'s (fake ones) at the door though so Rose figured she'd give the place a shot.

Mia waved from behind the bar.

"Oh there's Mia!" Lissa called over the blaring of multiple TV's and speakers playing a weird dance remix.

"Good eye Liss," Rose said sarcastically.

"I'll get us some drinks," Christian offered.

Just then three fat men wearing mostly leather and body hair walked by.

"See any potentials?" Christian asked as the three men passed. She shooed him to the bar.

"Well _do_ you?" Lissa asked looking around the crowd.

"Lissa, all I see are a bunch of old dudes going through midlife crisis, a lot of leather, and smoke."

They waved their hands in front of their faces trying to clear the air. It did little to help. Lissa pointed to a few boys sitting in the corner.

"He's kind of cute," she shouted. "College man."

Rose followed her finger.

"He looks like his greatest accomplishment is the Chess Club."

"You have some nerve, being pick about your true love. Love is looking past the first impressions," Lissa lectured.

"He's wearing a polo shirt."

Lissa and Rose shared a look.

"Okay fine so he's not your match."

Christian came back handing both of the girl a beer. Rose downed hers hoping this night would end. Christian raised an eyebrow and Lissa gave a disapproving eye roll.

"Keep 'em coming," she instructed Christian.

He actually obliged and before she knew it she had a nice buzz going. Lissa and Christian looked a little tipsy themselves. They found seats at the back of the bar and every few moments Lissa would point to some guy.

"Your choices are getting worse and worse," Rose slurred.

She had spent a good portion of her high school years drunk so the nausea barely had an affect on her.

"So is my sobriety," Lissa whined laying her head on the table. Christian laughed hugging down the rest of his third beer.

"I hope Mia is sober enough to take us home 'cause we don't have a designated driver," Lissa said, her voice muffled by the table.

"You can always stay at my place tonight," Christian offered slinging his arm around Lissa. Lissa sat up and leaned into him.

"I'm guessing that's not an open invitation for me," Rose said wishing there was more liquid in her cup.

"Floor in the living room is all yours."

Lissa tried to playfully smack him but after a few misses she gave up and just decided to kiss him. Rose made a disgusted sound and managed to stand.

"'m gonna go get another drink."

She thought she'd been taking a straight path to the bar but the growing crowd had pushed her so that she was in the corner of the bar.

"Need another?" a deep voice asked.

Rose nodded not acknowledging who it was that spoke. Someone slipped a glass into her hands and the other fell to the floor. She took it gratefully and drank it all in one gulp. She didn't want to admit it but she had been thinking about Dimitri tonight and the thought of him made her feel lonely, especially with Lissa and Christian suddenly sucking face in front of her. She wanted someone to keep her company too. The liquor was helping though.

"Thirsty?" the same voice asked from Rose's right after she'd finished her drink.

"Yeah," she answered looking disappointedly at her empty glass.

It took her a moment to realize it wasn't one of her friends that spoke.

A tall beefy looking man to her right stood beside her suddenly. He had a weird, half shaved head, Mohawk thing going, an earring in one ear, and liquor on his breath.

"I'm sorry do I know you?" Rose asked.

Her question came out a little slurred and her vision blurred as the beer started taking a bigger toll on her.

She searched around for Lissa and realized she'd left her at the table with Christian.

"No but do you want to? We can get better acquainted someplace quiet, maybe in the alley outback."

Even this drunk Rose knew the pickup line was cheesy. She felt herself make an expression that was a cross between disgust and surprise at his boldness.

"Ummm…no thanks."

She tried to push past but he held his arm against the wall blocking her only way.

"That was a sign for you to let me leave."

"Oh come on, baby. I'm a good offer, the best you'll probably get tonight," the big man's smile was all cheeky and boyish. He was definitely as drunk as Rose. She wondered if this was the beer talking or if he was actually this daring. "I'll probably be the best you've ever had."

Rose outright laughed at this.

The guy laughed along with her.

"You can feel me out for yourself," he offered. He leaned the lower half of his body a little forward and indicated with his eyes exactly where it was Rose should feel out.

She laughed again.

She was about to tell him what exactly he could do with himself when two different hands slapped down on the man's shoulders.

On one side stood a tall blonde with sky blue eyes and on the other was…

"Dimitri," she breathed.

It came out as a sigh. She couldn't believe he was actually standing there in front of her. For a moment she even thought she might be hallucinating but then she couldn't figure out why she'd hallucinate a blonde man she didn't know.

"All right bro you've had enough," the blonde said.

"I haven't even closed the deal yet," the beefy man complained. "Give me another five minutes and we'll be done."

Rose giggled.

"You're going to need more than five minutes to satisfy her," Dimitri said. He had been watching Rose, running his eyes up and down her body.

_Maybe he'll want me again tonight, _Rose hoped.

Through the hazy drunken fog in her head she thought she could see…hunger, wanting in his eyes but she decided it was a trick of the light and her drunkenness.

"So you're Rose," the blonde acknowledge extending his hand out toward her.

She made a face but shook his hand.

_Dimitri had been talking about me to his friends?_

Almost immediately at the thought she felt herself blush at the thought of Dimitri telling them _everything _about her. She hoped he was the private man she thought he was and kept their encounters to himself.

"That's me," she finally answered. "And you're the guy I don't know."

"Ivan," the guy chuckled.

Rose nodded and turned back to the beefy guy.

"And you're the man with the 'good offer'?"  
Ivan and Dimitri both laughed. "Seriously? You used that line?" Ivan asked. "Excuse my brother Evan. He's…special when it comes to females."

"I bet he is," Rose said eyeing Evan.

"Come on you've had your fun for tonight. I'll talk to you later Dimitri," Ivan said winking.

Dimitri made a sort of scoffing sound.

"A pleasure meeting you," he nodded to Rose. "I'm sure my brother will be thinking about you when he's alone tonight."

Rose laughed as they left.

The bar was still noisy and crowded but with Dimitri in front of her, the heat of his body rolling off of him and touching her skin, Rose could imagine that they were the only two people in the world.

She realized she'd been staring starry eyed at Dimitri.

"Are you drunk?"

"Not enough," she muttered swaying a little.

Dimitri's soft lips lifted into a crooked smile.

"Well, you're sober enough to turn down Evan's pick up lines," he commented.

"There isn't a girl in the world that will go for those lines. He seems nice though. They both do…a little forward though," she slurred.

"Ivan's normal but Evan is…different. He's still young."

Rose felt her self-light up at the fact that he'd willingly spoken about his private life. After all he had no choice to now. She started thinking about Lissa's earlier words about true love and fate. What were the odds she'd run into Dimitri at a place like this?

"He's cute," she shrugged jokingly.

Dimitri's face was all seriousness though.

He slid a hand through her hair and moved so close his lips brushed against hers. Rose couldn't resist letting her tongue take a quick brush against his. He tasted…minty with a slight affect of beer.

He licked his lips where her tongue had brushed.

Dimitri made a contemplating sound in his throat.

"What?" Rose whispered hoping he'd hear over all of the noise.

"I'm trying decide if I should take advantage of your lack of sobriety," he said against her lips.

Rose realized with him so close that he was a little bit tipsy himself. She didn't think he'd really act this way in public but right then she didn't care.

"Please do."

It almost sounded like she was begging. She felt his warm laugh touch her lips.

"There's a motel around the corner. Let's get out of here."

It sounded nowhere near as romantic as she wanted Dimitri's offer to be but since she was drunk and he was drunk and willing to have her twice in the same day, she'd take it. She nodded.

"I'll meet you outside."

She made her way back to where Christian and Lissa were entangled in one another quicker this time.

She grabbed her purse and smacked Lissa's shoulder to get her attention.

Christian muttered obscenities at being forced to pull away from Lissa.

"I'll see you later."

Lissa looked confused her brows furrowed.

"Why?"

"Dimitri's here. We're gonna…leave together."

Lissa probably would've argued about morals and the whole Dimitri situation not being right but Rose was grateful she had Christian, his apartment nearby, and a few chugs of beer in her belly to distract her.

"Have fun," she called, turning her attention back to Christian, as Rose practically skipped, pushing her way through the crowd this time but she was already gone out the door.


	5. Chapter 5: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"You know her man?" Ivan asked quirking a brow.

It took a few moments for Dimitri to answer. The first thing that had attracted him to Rose had been her legs and Dimitri could do nothing but stare from his seat at the bar.

"That's Rose," he said simply unable to fight the smile tugging at his lips.

Ivan nearly choked on the sip of beer he'd been taking. "Wait…_the _Rose. The one you're ba-"  
"That's her."  
Ivan chuckled taking another sip of his beer. "So Evan's making a play for your bed buddy," he said intrigued. "Should we take Rose out of her misery or should we let my brother continue to make a fool of himself?"  
"Mmm…hard to decided. The latter seems like it could have an interesting ending," Dimitri said laughing.

"Well if she's as easy to jump in bed with him as she was with you then leave her to suffer with Evan. And then I call next," Ivan said. A moment later he asked, "Was she good?"

"Not bad," Dimitri said simply.

His words really held no meaning because this was the answer he gave for all of the women he was with.

"Good enough for my brother?"  
Dimitri made a face as if the answer to that should be blatantly obvious.

"Stupid question. Let's stop my brother from further embarrassment."

They each slapped a twenty on the bar before making their way toward the two.

"… feel me out for yourself," Evan was saying. Ivan and Dimitri shared a look as Evan jutted his body toward Rose who laughed.

Still laughing, she opened her mouth to speak again but Ivan and Dimitri each slapped a hand down on either side of Evan's shoulders.

"Dimitri," she breathed.

She had a starry eyed look in her eyes. It took Dimitri a few seconds to realize how many beers she must've drank. She was swaying on her feet, using the wall for support. She looked nothing like the formal, almost as equally cold woman he had been with a few hours ago.

"All right bro you've had enough," Ivan said.

"I haven't even closed the deal yet," Evan complained. "Give me another five minutes and we'll be done."

Rose giggled. She was definitely a little tipsy.

"You're going to need more than five minutes to satisfy her," Dimitri said without thinking. His own mug of beer seemed to be kicking in too. He had been watching Rose, running his eyes up and down her body. She looked good in the slim, simple outfit she'd been wearing and suddenly his stiff conversation with Natasha came to mind and Dimitri could think of nothing better but to try and forget about her by 'spending time' with Rose.

Her eyes hadn't left his gaze. They were heavy lidded. Dimitri hoped she was feeling as needy and eager as she had earlier.

"So you're Rose," Ivan acknowledge extending his hand out toward her.

She had surprised expression and briefly glanced at Dimitri before shaking Ivan's hand.

""That's me," she finally answered after a few moments. "And you're the guy I don't know."

"Ivan," Ivan chuckled. Dimitri glanced at him amused. He was playing the flirting game but Rose was unfazed. She nodded and turned back to Evan.

"And you're the man with the 'good offer'?"  
Ivan and Dimitri both laughed. Evan was not only known for his boldness to hit on women that were out of his league but for his corny pick up lines. "Seriously? You used that line?" Ivan asked. "Excuse my brother Evan. He's…special when it comes to females."

"I bet he is," Rose said eyeing Evan.

"Come on you've had your fun for tonight. I'll talk to you later Dimitri," Ivan said winking.

Dimitri made a sort of scoffing sound. Ivan knew Dimitri was going to go for a second round with Rose.

"A pleasure meeting you," he nodded to Rose. "I'm sure my brother will be thinking about you when he's alone tonight."

Rose laughed as they left. She followed them with their eyes until they disappeared outside the door and then she turned her heavy gaze onto Dimitri, grinning.

"Are you drunk?" He had hoped before that they could go through the night without acknowledging her potential drunkenness.

"Not enough," she muttered. She leaned off of the wall a bit and swayed toward Dimitri.

Dimitri's lifted his lips into a smile thinking of where this night could only go.

"Well, you're sober enough to turn down Evan's pick up lines," he commented.

"There isn't a girl in the world that will go for those lines. He seems nice though. They both do…a little forward though," she slurred.

"Ivan's normal but Evan is…different. He's still young."

He immediately chastised himself for referencing to his friends. A major rule, don't get personal. It seemed silly though since she'd just met them. He decided, after tonight, he'd have to be more careful, distant to the point that if he ever ran into Rose again after tonight they wouldn't even acknowledge each other unless it was to make certain arrangements for a meeting, and even then that could be done over the phone.

Only after her slept with her tonight of course.

"He's cute," she shrugged, trying to joke.

Dimitri was all seriousness though. He was rarely in the mood for jokes, especially not with his female counterparts. He only wanted one thing right now. He slid a hand through her hair and moved close enough so that his lips brushed against her full ones. Dimitri was momentarily surprised when he felt the brush of her tongue against his lips.

He licked his lips where her tongue had brushed. She was being playful, a good sign, but Dimitri thought he'd make her ask for it.

"What?" Rose whispered.

"I'm trying decide if I should take advantage of your lack of sobriety," he said mockingly, touching his lips with he own.

"Please do," she sighed nearly letting all of her weight fall against him.

It almost sounded like she was begging.

He laughed. Being the dominant one, having women that begged to be wit him, had always been a turn on.

"There's a motel around the corner. Let's get out of here."

For a moment he saw a look of disappointment in her eyes. His offer wasn't the most romantic but it wasn't supposed to matter whether he was romantic or not. It only mattered to him that both of them were satisfied but she nodded.

"I'll meet you outside," she said.

He watched for a moment as she parted her way through the crowd to a table where a couple was making out. He decided he didn't need to know who it was Rose hung out with or what the people she spent her time with were like. He stood outside of the bar for less than a minute before Rose came out again a purse in her hand.

"Let's go," she breathed.

It took them only a couple of minutes to walk to the motel and less than a minute to ask the man behind the desk for a key. Dimitri slid a hundred dollar bill toward the man and he practically threw a room key at them.

Rose stumbled behind him as he pulled her along eagerly. He was growing more and more eager and turned to lift her up in his arms and carry her into the room.

He laid her gently onto the bed holding her wrists above her head against the pillow. Before when he had done this she had laughed and went along with the game but right now it seemed all she could do was stare up at him. It was unnerving to Dimitri but he really wanted to finish this night as planned.

He figured he could just avoid her eyes and bury his face into the crook of her neck running kisses along her warm skin. He let go of her arms long enough to push up the tank top she was wearing exposing her bare stomach and bra underneath.

Rose started to move her arms ready to wrap them around them.

"Don't move," he whispered to Rose.

He slowly leaned down and kissed the softness of her stomach.

Rose tried to move again lifting her arms, ready to stretch them around his shoulders but Dimitri wouldn't give up his control.

He quickly grasped a hold of Rose's wrists again, grunting.

"Why don't you let me touch you?" Rose huffed frustrated.

"I told you before. It's sort of a preference of mine that I do all of the touching." He kissed her again and she mumbled something against his mouth. He pulled back enough so that she could speak.

"I thought maybe it could be different this time."

She spoke slowly as if not wanting the liquor to slur her words so that Dimitri could understand. He pulled back surprised by her words. Earlier today he had been glad to say that Rose wasn't the clingy, needy type and now, a few hours later, she was acting like all of the others.

Irritated, he had to fight the urge to roll his eyes and shift off of her and then a thought occurred to him. Maybe it was just the liquor talking. He hoped it was just the liquor talking.

"Rose, you're drunk," he said simply, hoping those simple words would remind her that the two times they had been together was for fun.

"Only a l-little," she muttered. She wiggled her arms from Dimitri's grasp and managed to take a hold of the front of his shirt and caress the side of his face with the other hand.

"My cousin… keeps telling me about being in love and everything and we have great sex and we get along, at least from the two times we've been together and…I like you so I thought that maybe you might like me," she finished.

She exhaled like it had taken a lot of effort to get all of that out and a smile beamed up at Dimitri. He tried to fight it but he couldn't help but laugh.

Her smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. His laugh shook the bed.

He was hoping that she was kidding and that all of this was drunken talk but by the look of hurt in her eyes she was being serious.

He was still laughing though. She looked up at him in disbelief.

"You can't be serious," he was able to get out between laughs.

When her expression didn't change he tried to sober himself enough to speak clearly so that she'd understand once and wouldn't bring up the 'relationship' idea again.

"Rose I have a fiancé."

Her hurt expression from before didn't falter.

"But you're with me," she pointed out.

Dimitri ran a hand over his face and leaned up off of her straddling her.

"We are not having this conversation. I thought that you understood. No strings attached."  
She sat up on her elbows and stared off into space.

Dimitri knew for sure now it wasn't just the beer kicking in.

Rose sat like that for a few moments, as if gathering herself. Dimitri thought about simply leaving but he needed her to understand.

Before he could speak though she lay back down on the bed and he thought she was going to tell him to get off so that she could leave. Instead she brushed back her hair and exhaled sounding as frustrated as Dimitri was becoming.

"I know …I know…it's just…I thought that maybe…" her words trailed off as her eyes grew heavier than before and her breathing slowed. She was speaking more to herself now.

"What's wrong with me?" he heard her whisper.

Dimitri had gone to school to be a doctor but he was more of a businessman than anything and as a businessman, owning a handful of medical clinics, he developed a sort of hardness in his personality and right now he was grateful for it.

It would make straightening out the fling he thought he had control of that much easier.

"Rose?"  
He nudged her once and she didn't move but let out a long sigh.

"I thought you were old enough to understand this but I guess you're just a kid."

Words he was sure would hurt as much as being rejected.

She finally took her hands out of her hair and spoke.

"I get it. It's just…sex," she said with finality.

A look Dimitri had never seen on Rose's face before appeared, as if she'd made a decision, and then it was gone and she laid herself flat on the bed.

"So do you still want to…?" she asked unsure.

The mood had faded a bit but Dimitri figured he could work around it and forget it all by tomorrow.

Why waist a good room?  
He leaned over her again and he didn't have to hold her hands down to keep her from trying to touch him. She wouldn't even meet his eyes and for a moment this was all right with Dimitri, it was what he said he wanted, distance even in the closest of positions.

After they had finished though, for a moment, Dimitri barely acknowledged that suddenly Rose's distance had both intrigued and pleased him before but now…it wasn't as satisfactory.


	6. Chapter 6: Rose

**A/N: Kind of a boring chapter but it kind of fills in a few points for the rest of the story. Hope you enjoy.**

_**Rose**_

It took Rose almost an hour after Dimitri left to convince herself not to cry. By the time she mustered the courage to even leave the motel room and face the reality that she was really just some plaything it was near check out time and the manage had to knock on the door to remind her.

She left the room surprised to find that it was morning and that she had spent an entire night replaying Dimitri's words in her head, each sentence like a blow to her stomach. The one that had hurt the most was when he'd referred to her as just a kid. It nearly killed her to acknowledge that it was just sex.

She walked all of the way home trying to do something she thought she'd perfected over the years: numbing her emotions.

Dimitri had been nice to her, he was good looking and Rose had, just for a moment with the help of a few beers and Lissa's words about love playing in her head, wondered what it would be like to be with someone that wanted her just as much as she wanted them.

And as soon as that fantasy appeared din her head, it disappeared and she shivered because of the cold morning air and realized this was her reality.

She was an eighteen-year-old high school graduate with a car, few bucks and clothes to her name, a cousin whose life seemed to be going in a better direction than hers, and the lowest self-esteem any girl could have at the moment.

She walked by an old pawnshop she'd stopped in once to pawn her favorite necklace so that she and Liss would have something too eat a while back when neither of them could find quick cash or a job while they were in high school. She wondered if it was still there and then convinced herself that it didn't matter.

It was in the past and she had to focus on letting go and moving on.

The same idea applied to Dimitri.

_I'm going to be stronger, _she decided, turning away from the window and continuing on her way home not once looking back.

* * *

"Where have you been?"

Lissa was standing in the kitchen making breakfast when she got home.

"Do you even know how to say hello anymore?"

"Rose, I was worried sick about you," she said in a rather calm voice pushing the eggs around on a fry pan.

Rose propped herself up on the counter.

"You were so worried you decided to make breakfast."

"I was going to call the police once I'd finished."

"That's reassuring," Rose said sarcastically. "I bet you didn't even realize I was gone until you came back here this morning."

Liss looked sheepish and focused on making breakfast.

"How'd you know I didn't sleep here last night?"

"You drank a gallon of beer last night and were as tipsy as a teeter-totter. When I left you, you and Christian were attached at the mouth."

A light blush colored Liss's naturally pallid cheeks.

"I'm guessing I wasn't the only one that got laid last night," Rose muttered. "Or was it one of your 'sleepovers' without sex?"

"It wasn't just a sleepover."

Rose waited for Lissa to fill in the rest of the story. She looked a little nervous and anxious.

"Christian asked me to move in with him," she said slowly not looking up to meet Rose's surprised gaze. Or at least Rose felt surprised but she was suddenly so tired she couldn't manage to pull any real emotion on her face.

"And your reply was…"

Rose hoped that she turned it down. Lissa and Rose had always planned on living together even after high school and Rose realized how much she needed and would miss her cousin around the house.

"I said…I'd think about it…once I told you of course."

Rose felt a little embarrassed. She had always been the one to take care of Lissa and didn't really need to rely on anyone but somehow she had come to rely on Lissa and she'd stopped taking care of herself. She had found odd jobs or ways to get money since they'd been living on their own but someway their roles had changed during the last year of high school and Rose was ashamed to admit or acknowledge that Lissa suddenly carried most if not all of the responsibilities on her shoulders.

"You should do it." They were four words that Rose found really difficult to say but she almost meant them. She wanted her best friend to be happy and it was possible that this was a sign that she needed to stand on her own two feet again.

"Let's just see what happens in the next couple of days and then I'll decide," Lissa said.

She set a plate in front of Rose with eggs, toast and bacon.

"Eat up," she said changing the subject. "Today is the day."

"Saturday?"

"Not just Saturday but the Saturday that you and I are going to find you a job."

"Oh joy," Rose sighed setting the orange juice she'd been sipping from down on the counter.

Lissa already had a part time job at a department store as a cashier to help pay for a few bills around the house but she was starting college in a few months and if she was going to move in with Christian, Rose knew Liss couldn't support the house and she'd be on her own.

Remembering her earlier vow to be stronger and deciding it was time to be a better person she stood after taking a quick bite from her toast. If she was going to be stronger and on her own what a better time to start than now.

"You spend your Saturday with the boyfriend. I'm going to go out and find myself a job." She sniffed her hair and clothes first smelling the stale cigarettes and the scent of beer.

"After a quick shower."

"Are you sure? I can help, Rosie," Liss called leaning over the stairs that Rose had started to climb on the way to her room. She wasn't going to hold her cousin back anymore; she had to do this on her own.

"No, Liss, I'll be fine," she called back without much conviction.


	7. Chapter 7: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

He woke up with a slight headache but he was pleased with himself. Rose had disappointed him by telling him that she had feelings for him, real emotional feelings, not just the physical stuff but he had straightened her out.

They'd slept together one last time and now he saw no reason to see her again and was even thinking about finding a quick replacement.

_Or maybe it's time to avoid having any more flings with Tasha coming home soon and our wedding practically around the corner, _he thought to himself.

He often found himself questioning if the affairs really would stop once they were married, if their deal was kept. He doubted it but he also wasn't one to break a promise. Dimitri had hard time imagining himself with the same woman day after day.

He thought back to when he'd first hired Natasha as his assistance at the clinic he opened. He had done it as a favor to a friend but somewhere along the line after sleeping together one too many times and sharing a few meals in between they'd become a couple. The next thing he knew, his boss' that oversee Dimitri's clinics told him that they'd be more inclined to allow him to open a few more if he was a married man.

It was something about proving that he was stable and capable of being committed. Dimitri had thought it was crap but Natasha saw it as some opportunity and agreed and now he was engaged to be married.

It seemed so simple and less complicated.

Thinking about it now, though, Dimitri felt like he could use a drink.

Instead he focused on the paperwork on his desk. He worked uninterrupted into the night. The clinic was closed now and he enjoyed the few moments he had to himself until the door to his office opened.

"Haven't I always told you to allow your money to work for you?"

Natasha, in all of her long legs and flowing hair, closed the office door behind her and moved to sit on the edge of Dimitri's desk, crossing her legs in front of him. Dimitri leaned back in his office chair.

"You look surprised. I told you I'd be home soon," she reminded him.

He felt more annoyed that he wouldn't be home alone tonight than surprised but he decided to keep that to himself.

Tasha had known him for a long time though and she could see right through his expression.

"You seem bothered. Were you expecting someone else to go home with you tonight?"

"You know I don't bring anyone back to the house. It's one of our rules."

"So you go to their houses? That's reassuring," she said sarcastically.

It had always been difficult to pinpoint when Tasha would have one of her moods. He couldn't understand why it would suddenly bother her so much where he went when he had his affairs.

"Did you have a bad time on your trip or have you always been this confrontational?"

She straightened up, still sitting on the desk, flicking her hair over her shoulders. He expected one of her sarcastic confrontational replies that would lead to some argument that they'd forget about later.

Instead she sat staring at him for a long moment and relaxed, her stiff expression softening.

"I'm sorry."

Those were two words he'd never hear come out of her mouth before. I lifted a brow quizzically wondering where this was going and if se was being real.

"Look, I had somewhat of an…epiphany on my "business" trip," she started. She hopped off of the desk and circled around to the front lifting up objects and rifling through his coat on the chair. "I realized that I don't want it to be like this for us anymore. We're not exactly a conventional couple."

"Did you realize this before or after you were stood up?"

She looked up at him with her icy blue eyes, surprised.

"Lucky guess," he said smugly.

"On my way to meet my _friend _I thought about our last conversation."

Dimitri sighed, remembering their last conversation before she had left.

"Remember that all of this stops after we're married. We can't be one of those high society couples full of scandal," Natasha said zipping up her bags.

_Dimitri shrugged nonchalantly sipping from his coffee mug. "I'll stop if you will."_

_Natasha seemed fazed by his response. "I mean, it's not like we have to be madly in love or anything but the least we can is respect each other and our marriage. Once we're married of course."_

_Dimitri didn't reply. He had little faith in the sanctity of marriage and he was only going through with all of this for a business deal and any future deals to come. His silence put an odd expression on Natasha's face but it went unnoticed and before he knew it she was walking toward the door._

"_I'll be back in a few days. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said in her usually cold voice. _

"_That's gonna be hard," he muttered as she left. _

"We really do have to present ourselves as an in love couple in order to make it in high society. If we avoid any chances of scandal we could be invited to the best dinner parties, gatherings, make more deals which means more money and you and I both will be happy," she explained.

Dimitri smiled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Is that what this is about? You want to look good for the camera's and make a little money along the way."

Even though he'd never admit it aloud, Dimitri had opened these clinics to help people, something he secretly liked to do. He was only heartless when convenient, which felt like most of the time. He had wanted to become wealthy before as a kid and as a teenager but now as an adult he never did any of this for money.

"Like you don't?"

"You didn't have to fake the sadness and emotions. Believe it doesn't look good on you."

She pursed her lips and tossed her hair behind her haughtily.

"I wasn't faking."

Dimitri quirked a brow.

"Alright maybe a little but this could benefit the both of us. Besides, I think it is time that you I both matured and become dedicated to one another and no one else. Except the people who right checks," she added matter-of-factly.

Dimitri laughed to himself. He found it ironic that half a day ago he had told Rose that she was acting like a kid and now Natasha was implying the same.

"And your jealousy has nothing to do with this?" He asked trying to forget any thoughts of Rose.

There's no need to think about her now or ever again. No emotions.

"You think I'm jealous?" She tried to sound incredulous but her sultry voice cracked at the end.

"It sure seemed that way the last few times you called me. Ivan always tells me that a girl can only pass herself off as uncaring for so long."

"Ivan as your go to guy for advice on women is not the brightest idea."

"I don't need advice on women because women are simple. They only thing they want out of men are money, social standing, and maybe a bit of satisfaction every now and again."

"Including me?"

"Especially you. Natasha, just a few seconds ago you were trying to get me to pledge faithfulness to you because you want money and a good social status," he reminded her. He stood to file a few papers away and to grab his bag and his coat.

The last two days had felt long and now he was ready to go home and sleep it all off.

Natasha nodded in agreement. "Okay, fine, it's true. Men want exactly the same things."

"Some of the time."

"So this idea should sound good to you. It benefits both of us," she said repeating her earlier words.

"Whoever stood you up must've really pissed you off," Dimitri chuckled to himself turning off his desk light. "Most people come home from trips, they say hello, how are you, but you come home with a scheme."

"That was something you liked about me when we were younger," she smiled moving to stand in front of him blocking the door.

"Now we're older and it isn't as cute or appealing anymore."

"I can still be appealing."

She grabbed a hold of Dimitri's shirt pulling him toward her. He was surprised to notice for the first time that her blouse was unbuttoned at the top and he could see her lacey bra underneath.

She kissed him, smashing their bodies together, locking her long nails in his hair scratching his cheek in the process. When she let go a few seconds late they were both breathing hard. Tasha's idea of a passionate kiss was a short one.  
Dimitri reminded himself that they'd be married soon and she'd be his only source of satisfaction so he figured he'd grow used to it now.

"Appealing enough for you?"

He flicked off the last of the office lights and grabbed a hold of her arm leading her to the car.

"I'll let you know when we get home."

Almost two and a half hours later they lay back in bed staring at the high ceiling both breathless.

"So about my idea…" she started.

"I didn't find time to think about it between the drive home and when I was tearing your clothes off but I'll let you know."

"It's not like it would be something difficult to do. We _are _engaged, after all. We'll have to do all of this anyway."

"When did you start caring only about money?"

"When I realized life will kick the crap out of me unless I take full advantage of every opportunity," she said standing.

She pulled on the shirt he'd been wearing today and walked to the bathroom. Dimitri realized she was talking about how all of the money she'd been born into was running out. Natasha had made money seem useless as a teenager but now that she didn't have any without him it became a number one priority to her.

Dimitri sighed.

Natasha was right. Life was hard and unless he took advantage he wouldn't be where he was today. He used to think about settling down and having a big family and since Natasha was offering him just that he figured why not. The situation would benefit both of them. What bothered him was that it wouldn't matter whether they were happy or not but he rarely felt happy anyway and maybe a little more money was what he needed to lift his spirits.

"I can hear the wheels turning in your head," Natasha said coming out of the bathroom. She sat beside Dimitri on the bed scrolling through her Blackberry.

"Alright let's do it. No more flings, affairs, no more games. This could put us both at an advantage in the end."

"I knew you'd see things my way," she said without looking up from her phone. "Oh crap I forgot I was supposed to meet with my nephew for lunch tomorrow."

"We'll both go."

Natasha turned making a weird face at Dimitri. They'd never gone out to simply have lunch with someone.

"If you really want things to change and be different, we can start with simple outings like this," he said his voice growing sleepy.

Natasha nodded remembering her own words happy she'd convinced Dimitri in her plan.

"Good. I'll call Chris tomorrow."

Dimitri mumbled an okay. He quietly laughed to himself, before drifting asleep, at the irony. He'd told Rose that one of the reasons he couldn't be committed to her or return her feelings was because of his "sudden dedication' to his fiancé. He'd been slightly stretching the truth but now it seemed his words were coming back to haunt him. He found himself falling asleep, uncertain how exactly all of this would play out.


	8. Chapter 8: Rose

_**RPOV**_

Rose fell down onto the couch in a huff.

Lissa looked up from her cell phone smiling.

"No luck?"

Rose threw up her hands exasperatedly.

"It was unbelievable out there!"

"We're in a bit of depression, Rose. People aren't handing out jobs willy-nilly," Lissa laughed to herself, knowing Rose's searching wouldn't be easy.

"I was offered jobs actually. They were just…really weird."

Lissa looked up surprised. "How so?"

"Five different employers implied that I had to _sleep _with them to get the job…and four of them were women!"

"I don't believe you," Lissa laughed shaking her head.

"It's true! I went to this weird restaurant that asked for a waitress. The newspaper failed to point out that they wanted a _topless _waitress."

Rose sighed as Lissa fell off of the couch in laughter. She would've found it funny too if it hadn't happened to her. Lissa finally sobered settling herself beside Rose.

"That's something that could only happen to you."

Rose thought back to her previous wild nights and realized Lissa was right.

"Oh, and did you know that you have to know how to work a Swiffer Mop to work in half of the diners in this city?" Rose asked incredulously.

"I didn't even know you knew how to work a regular mop."

"I don't! That was the problem."

Lissa stifled a few more laughs laying back on the couch beside her cousin.

"So what've you been up to?"  
"My usual craziness," Lissa said sarcastically.

"After what I experienced today, I've learned anything is possible. Even _you _being uncharacteristically _untamed."_

"Are you giving up already?" Lissa asked unsurprised.

"Nope."

Rose remembered her earlier promise to herself and was proud that despite her day's events she wasn't ready to give up just yet. If anything it made her want to try harder. There had to be at least one job out there that involved normalcy, and didn't include sex or anything to remind her of her fling with Dimitri.

"Good. I have two surprises for you," Lissa said perking up.

"I've already been surprise enough for one day."

"You might like it. It'll take your mind off of today's…adventure and it involves you getting a job."

Rose gave her a skeptical look. "Really?" She asked cautiously.

"Did you really think I wasn't going to help you anyway, even though you told me not to?"  
Rose didn't answer. It was bad enough that she had realized she'd put too much of the responsibility on Lissa's shoulders.

"Christian is having lunch with his aunt today."

"Meeting the family. How does this involve me?"  
It seemed Lissa's world was only getting better as hers was getting…weirder.

Lissa looked at her surprised.

"Well, you're _my _family and hopefully Christian will officially be apart of our little makeshift family and it would mean a lot to me if you're there," she explained with her wide pleading eyes.

_It's the least I can do_, Rose thought.

"Anyway, Christian was telling me about her and she's bringing her fiancé and when I mentioned that I was worried about you not being able to find a job-"

That hurt. Rose flinched. Even Lissa had her doubts about Rose's capabilities.

"And, being the awesome boyfriend that he is, he talked to his aunt on the phone and she mentioned there might be a job opening at her fiancé's medical clinic as a secretary since she plans on not working after their married. Interested?"

It took Rose a moment to wrap her head around the complicated sentence and after several moments when she didn't say anything Lissa spoke.

"You _should_ be interested! It sounds like a good job, especially for someone fresh out of high school, who's trying to find herself."

Rose lifted her brows fighting a smile. "'Find myself'?"  
"You know what I mean, Rose. You've been…different lately. Especially with that guy…what was his name again?"

Rose's previous amusement was completely gone now.

"It doesn't matter." She realized she hadn't told Lissa that their _fling _was probably over and she didn't really feel like it now. She wanted to focus on the future.

Lissa, noticing her cousin's shift in moods didn't say anything more about it.

"So you'll come today?" she asked hopeful.

"Of course, for you, Liss. Besides, what more can possibly happen to me today?"


	9. Chapter 9: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"I don't understand why you don't plan on working for me after we're married," Dimitri said sipping the coffee the waitress set down at their table.

They'd arrived earlier as usual to the restraint Tasha had picked out.

"I know that I can trust you to do the work. I don't want to have to break in a new assistant."

"You didn't have to break me in. I knew how to do my job."

"After I told you what you were doing wrong," he muttered.

Tasha made an expression showing that she was biting back whatever snappy comment she had for that.

"It's a favor to my nephew."

Dimitri vaguely remembered meeting Tasha's nephew who was only a few years younger than him. Dimitri knew Tasha's family was made up of cold, greedy people, who were only after money, and none of them got along but Tasha favored Christian because they shared the same snarky attitude.

"I don't remember owing your nephew a favor," Dimitri said hiding a grin.

He couldn't help but enjoy himself when he was able to get under Tasha's skin. He watched as she scraped her nails across the table. He'd been full of quips and comments since they'd left the house this morning despite his previous resolve to make Tasha's plans work for them both even if it meant pretending to be a good fiancé and potential husband.

"Consider it a favor to me. After all, you've probably slept with half of the city while I was gone. Consider this as an act of redemption," she said wearing an equal smile.

"Do you really want to play this game or should we bring up your history with the opposite sex?"

Tasha's nails scraped against the table again and he could tell she was still biting her tongue. She distracted herself by curling her long fingers around her mug. Dimitri was interested in what she was going to respond with.

"Is this how it's going to be between us? What happened to trying to make this work?"

"I've been thinking about that and what you really asked of me was to pretend and try to make this work."  
"So?" she asked more irritation in her voice.

"Hurts a man's pride," he joked, smiling behind his mug again. In all honesty it did wound his pride a little that the only women he seemed to come across wanted him for a good time, for a check up, or to use him for his money.

_Except one._

The thought was fleeting and random but it had been playing in his head all morning long. He shook it off and distracted himself by looking around the restaurant. It was beach side, hanging literally over a cliff. He loved views like thise, overlooking the ocean but with so much tiem spent in the city he could hardly appreciate them. It was especially hard to appreciate it when he was trying to guess how expensive this place was. He wasn't one to really mind spending money but when he spent money without any real reason, or at least a good one to him, it bothered him.

_Leave it to Tasha to pick an expensive restaurant._

He rested his eyes on his fiancé who was stirring her black coffee.

After a moment she was about to speak again when she looked past Dimitri toward the front of the restaurant and smiled stiffly.

"Oh, there's Christian…and his girlfriend I presume," she said sounding disappointed with what she saw. Her lips were pulled into a tight unfriendly line. Dimitri knew this would be one of those moments when Tasha made it blatantly obvious how much she disliked someone.

_This is going to be an interesting lunch._

Tasha stood with her arms extended. "Chris!" she shrieks running into him.

Dimitri drank more of his coffee. He waited until Tasha had hugged her nephew tightly, giving him an appraisal before extending his hand out to greet him.

"Long time no see," Christian, said surprised. He turned to Tasha. "You didn't tell me you were going to marry Dimitri."

Dimitri could feel his bored expression change into that of a curious one at Christian comment. He sounded disappoint, similar to how Tasha had. Dimitri suddenly remembered than he once had a reputation that proceeded him, even when he was younger.

"You didn't tell me you were bringing your…girlfriend with you," Tasha said tightly looking at the platinum blonde girl beside Christian. She stood nervous and extended a hand out to Tasha who promptly glanced down at it and ignored it.

"This is Lissa," he introduced.

The blonde girl, Lissa, still held her hand out until Christian gently pushed it down to her said.

_He knows his aunt's coldness as well as I do, Dimitri thought amused._

"It's nice to meet you. Chris has told me so much about you," Lissa said. She was nervously intertwining her shaking hands. Dimitri could tell from Tasha's expression that she'd immediately classified this girl as less than worthy of her nephew.

"That's surprising, he has yet to really mention you."

"I guess this lunch is just full of surprises," Christian said.

He wrapped a protective arm over his girlfriend's shoulders.

"You have no idea," Dimitri muttered looking up at Tasha.

She shot him a warning glance and quickly recovered, regaining her forced cheerful composure.

"Well, shall we sit," Tasha said gesturing down to the table. She eased herself beside Dimitri with Christian on her other side. Lissa extended her hand out to Dimitri before sitting.

"I'm Liss."

"Dimitri," he greeted. An odd expression flicked across her face as she scooted her chair into the table.

"Have we met before?"

"Have you been to a clinic lately?" Tasha asked before Dimitri answer.

Both Christian and Lissa turned to look at Tasha. Dimitri tried to hide the smile, understanding the underlying implication in the question. "Dimitri is a doctor. He owns nearly most of the clinics downtown," Tasha pointed out, smiling at the surprised and embarrassed expression that was fading from their faces. "Maybe you met him there while you were getting treated for…something."

"Umm…no I don't think that's it," Lissa mumbled.

There was a stiff silence filled with a slight smile from Tasha and a shared apologetic glance from Christian to Lissa.

The young waitress who brought their drinks earlier appeared after an impatient motion from Tasha.

"Are we ready to order?" the waitress asked.

"I think so," Tasha sighed looking over the menu.

"Oh wait…we should probably wait for…oh there she is," Lissa said standing. She moved to run toward someone who had walked out onto the patio deck. Dimitri could hear hushed whispers between Lissa and whomever it was that had arrived.

"She's a bit…chipper isn't she?" Tasha asked without looking up from her menu.

"Be nice," Christian warned. "I promised I'd be on my best behavior with Rose here and it would help if you could do the same."

It took a moment for Dimitri to really grasp what he said. He thought about it, looking up from his own menu at Christian.

Rose? How many Rose's can there be in one city? What a coincidence. That would be just my luck if…

"I can't promise anything," Tasha was saying.

"Say you'll at the very least try."

Dimitri could practically hear the dark smirk on Tasha's face. She wasn't promising anything.

"What took you so long?" Christian asked standing to let the newcomer sit down on the other side of Liss.

"Parking. I found a spot but some evil son of a gun took up two parking spaces with their overtly flashy Mercedes."

Dimitri had to do a double take at the sound of her voice.

Across from him, trying to scoot her way into the chair beside him was Rose.

Unbelievable.

"I like to make sure no one hits my overtly flashy Mercedes so I park in two parking spaces," Tasha said.

Rose froze before sitting down, staring at Tasha.

"Of course, that makes perfect sense," she muttered sarcastically.

She glared at the woman and then glanced at Dimitri. She was about to sit down completely but froze in mid-sit.

Dimitri wasn't sure what he expected her initial reaction to be but it surprised him that her words voice his own earlier thoughts.

"Un-freaking believable."


	10. Chapter 10: Rose

_**Rose**_

"How did I get roped into driving? This isn't even my grandma we're meeting," Rose complained as she circled the parking lot trying to find a space.

"We're meeting my aunt," Christian corrected her. "And since I'm doing you a favor by helping you get a job and not letting you fulfill your destiny as a stripper named Delicious, I figured you'd be willing to drive."

"You know what Christian? I don't think I want a job that ties me to you or anyone in your family so you can take the job and your attitude and shove it up your-"

"None of this today!" Lissa complained beside Rose.

She was checking her reflection in the mirror for the fifth time. Rose could tell she was nervous and she figured that it wouldn't be much help to Lissa or her potential job if she and Christian were going to be at each other's throats all day.

"I don't know why you're so nervous. You're dating Christian, the worst scenario. His family can't be nearly as awful."

Rose thought she saw the reflection of Christian's finger in the mirror. Distracted, she almost missed a potential parking spot beside a Mercedes but she realized she could fit her car into the space because it was taking up two spots.

"Darn wealthy people," she muttered.

"Meeting my _normal _boyfriend's family is nerve wrecking. If she doesn't like me, she could influence the rest of our relationship," Lissa said as Rose pulled her car away from the two spots.

"I'd say you're exaggerating but I guess meeting anyone related to that thing in the backseat would scare me too. I'm shaking in my boots."

"You'll be fine, Liss," Christian assured her. "And you, driver, let us out. You can embrace your potential career as a bus driver without us," he said to Rose.

Rose mumble a few choice words under her breath and pulled in front of the nice restaurant. Rose wasn't looking forward to this lunch but she'd promised Liss she'd be there, it was a job opportunity, and the view was pretty nice. Rose had always loved the beach.

"Promise, you will both be on your best behavior," Lissa said before climbing out of the car with the help of Christian's extended hand.

"Scouts honor," Rose saluted.

"You were kicked out of girl scouts," Liss reminded her.

"Then you'll just have to take my word."

Liss made a worried face before getting out of the car. Rose could hear her giving Christian the same behavioral warning as she closed the door and pulled away looking for another parking spot. She wondered how she would do as a secretary. It wasn't the career Rose had imagined for herself but it was a start, even if it was a favor from Christian, his aunt and the fiancé, whoever these people were.

She just hoped they were nothing like Christian.

She finally decided to just park a few blocks away and walked back to the restaurant. She took a moment to look at the view. She hadn't been to the beach since she was a kid and wished she had more time.

"I'm working now. No fun. It's time to grow up," she told herself.

She decided it was best to get this lunch over with. Lissa would probably relax more with her there. A woman at the front desk pointed her out to the deck.

The view was even better when she stepped outside. The wind blew her hair every which way and the loose top and pencil skirt she was wearing billowed in the wind. She was glad she worn her warm boots.

Before she even made it half way across the deck she spotted Lissa practically running toward her.

"This isn't going well," she said.

"You just got here. What could've possibly happened?"

"She doesn't like me. I think it's because she didn't know about me. She doesn't like secrets so she doesn't like me and now she's going to ruin our-"

"Liss calm down," Rose laughed. She tangled her arm with her cousin's and led them back toward the table. "We just got here. You still have time for a little bit of damage control. And if that doesn't work I can tell this aunt of Christian to take whatever job she was going to give me and shove it up her-"

"What is it with you and telling people to shove things into certain places today?" Lissa asked half amused and half worried.

"Nerves I guess. I hope this interview isn't as…intensely weird as the others," Rose admitted.

"We'll do this together," Lissa patted her arm.

"I hope so because I parked two states over and had to hitchhike back here to the restaurant."

The breeze felt nice and the view was amazing but it did little to relax Rose's irritation at the thought of this job interview and that she parked so far. As she approached the table she greeted herself with a less than formal welcome.

"What took you so long?" Christian asked standing to let the girls sit down.

"Parking. I found a spot but some evil son of a gun took up two parking spaces with their overtly flashy Mercedes," Rose answered.

She was so flustered she forgot all about introductions and just wanted to sit down. She pushed past Christian and moved to sit near Lissa.

"I like to make sure no one hits my overtly flashy Mercedes so I park in two parking spaces," someone responded to Rose's previous comment.

Rose froze before sitting down; staring at whoever it was that spoke, hovering over the chair.

"Of course, that makes perfect sense," she muttered sarcastically.

She glared at the woman and then glanced at the man beside her without really seeing him. She was about to sit down entirely but did a double take. Her heart skipped a few beats and her stomach dropped.

It was Dimitri in all of his tanned skin, dark brown eyes, shoulder length hair, neatly shave and casually but nicely dressed in dark blue jeans and a dark button downed shirt.

"Un-freaking believable," were the first words out of her mouth.

"I should say the same," she thought she heard Dimitri say.

He looked her over the same way she had him. He still looked good but the memories of the night before last came crashing down on Rose along with all of the emotions. For a moment Rose forgot there were three other people at the table. Out of her peripheral she could see three surprised faces.

"This is just a stab in the dark but do you two know each other?" Christian asked.

Dimitri, without breaking his gaze from Rose's, opened his mouth to respond. Rose couldn't help but smirk, curious as to what he could possible say.

"She's the girl I slept with and used," she waited to hear.

She felt herself raise a brow, waiting to see what he'd say.

There was a long drawn out silence before she decided she could use this to put him in the hot seat and make him squirm if she wanted to she. She had decided to change and be more of an adult but not just yet. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"We met at a coffee shop. He bumped into me," Rose explained unable to hide her daring smile.

"Interesting," the woman beside him said. Rose looked at her in full for the first time. She was wearing a plain white dress and jewelry Rose thought was as flashy as her Mercedes. She had to admit the woman had beautiful hair though. It took her a moment to realize that this was Dimitri's fiancé.

"Not really. It was a brief encounter. Hardly memorable," Rose added.

The woman looked from Dimitri to Rose. She made a show of standing to introduce her. She was at least an inch or two taller than Rose.

_With heels, _Rose guessed.

"I'm Natasha, Dimitri's fiancé." She rested a hand on his shoulder as if to indicate and emphasize this. Rose noticed she didn't extend her hand to shake it. "And you must be the girl we were supposed to hire."

In all of the surprises, Rose had forgotten this lunch was also supposed to be an interview for a job. She quickly replayed the recent events in her head, and her two encounters with Dimitri and figured any chances she had of getting this job that she no longer wanted were gone. She took note of the fact that Tasha had said she was the girl they were 'supposed' to hire.

"Rose," she said simply.

"Pleasure to meet you," Tasha said tightly, seating herself and sharing a glance with Dimitri who was still staring up at Rose.

"I know," Rose shrugged.

Tasha was fazed for a moment by Rose's confident response but said nothing.

"Aren't you going to sit?" Dimitri asked leaning back in his seat.

"You know what, I don't think I am," Rose said. She stared pointedly from Dimitri to Tasha and back again. She felt Lissa tugging at her blouse.

"Rose, you promised," her cousin whispered tugging her down.

Rose internally cursed herself.

_Be an adult; be mature, _she told herself. _For Liss anyway._

She settled herself beside her cousin who glanced at Dimitri and back at Rose, her eyes widening, putting two and two together.

"This is the guy?" Rose could practically hear her cousin asking.

She barely nodded as Christian spoke.

"Well, this should be interesting," he muttered looking at his aunt's clenched jaw and back down at his menu, confused and completely unaware of what was going on.

Dimitri and Rose must've been sharing the same uneasy but darkly amuse emotions because they both muttered, under their breath, "You can say that again."


	11. Chapter 11: Dimitri

**_Dimitri_**

This was something new to Dimitri.

As a doctor he had been trained to expect the unexpected but this was something different entirely. He'd been taught to always be prepared when it came to his career but as for his personal life there was rarely a time that he was caught off guard.

With Rose around, though, this seemed to be happen to Dimitri a lot lately.

First he surprised her with her sudden admission of feelings and now here she sat. Dimitri racked his brain suddenly remembering that wasn't the first time she'd surprised him.

When they'd first come across each other in the coffee shop, he realized she had surprised him then too.

It was a little more than two weeks ago that they had met. It had been a particularly good day because it was one of those days that Tasha had left on one of her trips that morning. Dimitri was happy to just have the house to himself. He even found himself whistling on his way to the coffee shop he frequented before going to the clinic.

He was in such a good mood he bought a newspaper out front even though he was one of millions of people to believe that newspapers were dead. Normally he walked briskly by the newspaper vendor without so much as a glance but he was in a good mood, the weather was just right, and he couldn't think of anyway this day could get better.

He walked into the coffee shop skimming the front of the newspaper, not noticing the girl walking toward him.

"Oh!" She shrieked once they'd collided.

The two coffees she'd been holding sloshed against both the girl and Dimitri and dripped onto the floor. Dimitri lifted his soggy newspaper up and down and just decided to toss it.

"Well, I guess I won't be reading that," he muttered.

He took the napkin the girl extended out to him without looking at her.

"Damn and I just bought that coffee," he heard her huff.

They both tossed their soggy napkins and coffee cups into the trash and simultaneously shared a look.

The girl didn't look like she was ready to apologize at first glance but upon setting eyes on Dimitri her expression softened a bit. Dimitri could feel his expression doing the same. She was unmistakably beautiful. She had long hair that fell in waves cascading down her shoulders, bright brown eyes, and a pair of plump lips that looked as if they were often turned into a smug smile.

The girl shook herself from the staring trance she'd been sharing with Dimitri and searched her empty hands.

"Crap I dropped my wallet."

She turned in circles searching the floor. Dimitri spotted it under one of the tables.

He picked it up, glancing at the I.D. inside.

"Rose, that's a beautiful name," he said handing the wallet back to her.

"Do you use this line on every girl you meet?" she asked laughing softly taking her wallet back.

"You're the first Rose I've met."

"But not the first girl, surely," she said raising her brows pointedly. "So back to my initial question, does that line work."

Her directness caught him off guard for a moment but he quickly recovered.

"On a good day," he answered honestly.

Her smile widened a bit.

"Then you must be having a good day today."

Dimitri had returned her smile with a similarly smug one. He didn't think his day could get any better but the possibility of having a little bit more fun on the side while Tasha was gone was too appealing and too great of an opportunity to pass up. Dimitri tried to think back to what he had done that had earned him this much luck in one day, luck he hadn't had or believed in since he was a child.

He remembered then that he didn't believe in luck.

He controlled his own fate.

"I'm Dimitri," he introduced.

They shook hands and with that, Dimitri thought it would be another fling that would soon be forgotten.

He was stirred out of his memories and brought back to the present with Rose sitting across from him staring back and forth form Tasha to Dimitri. Little had Dimitri known that when he first met Rose, this would be the fling that wouldn't be easy to get rid of or forget. He'd never expected to be sitting at a table reluctantly surrounded by his fiancé, her nephew, his girlfriend who sat with her eyes downcast, and the girl he had slept with but couldn't seem to get rid of.

_Yes, today wasn't one of my luckier days,_ he thought. _But since I control my own fate I might as well have a little fun. _

Rose laughed silently to herself finally averting her gaze from Dimitri's.

Christian, also taking notice of Rose's sudden sense of humor, spoke for the first time since they'd all sat down.

"Something funny?"

Dimitri noticed the warning glare Lissa shot Rose.

"No, not really. It's just how small this world really is. I mean what are the odds of all of us knowing each other," she smiled turning her gaze back to Dimitri.

"Well, considering we're cousins I think the odds are pretty good," Lissa answered staring down at the table.

"Not you and me Liss. I meant what are the odds of Christian's aunt's fiancé being the guy that bumped into me at the coffee shop and ruined my nice blouse by the way. It sounds like some twisted soap opera where everyone is connected," she laughed with forced amusement.

Dimitri waited to see where she was going with this. This was the first real conversation since they'd all sat down around the table waiting for the waitress to return.

"Are you drunk again?" Christian asked.

Lissa slapped his arm.

"You're a drunk?" Tasha asked with a slight smirk on her face. "Does your cousin share the same habit?"

Lissa squirmed in her chair uncomfortably.

Rose only sat up straighter in her chair, flicking her long hair over her shoulders.

"Lissa hardly drinks and I only drink to avoid certain moments and unfortunately our waitress has yet to supply me with enough liquor," Rose answered.

"Ah," Tasha nodded, sipping her water.

"So Christian must be older than I thought," Rose says.

"Why would you say that?" Tasha asked intrigued.

"Well, he told Lissa and I earlier that you two were close in age and you look pretty good for your late thirties so I can only assume…" Rose let the sentence trail off after that.

"Hmm…. you mentioned before that Dimitri ruined your blouse when you first met. We'll have to reimburse you since it was probably only one of two blouse you own," Tasha muttered.

"Your fiancé already reimbursed me with something a little better than money."

Natasha glared and Dimitri could fight the smile tugging at his lips.

"Well I hoped you relished in it because remember, simple beauty like yours is sure to fade."

"I believe it. You're the living proof," Rose shot back.

There was a slight pause before Natasha spoke again.

"It must not have been memorable, whatever…reimbursement or encounter you and Dimitri shared. He didn't even mention it."

Dimitri could tell Rose was biting the side of her mouth. It was such a simple insult but to have someone tell you that you were unmemorable and easily forgotten stung. Dimitri had once experienced the same feeling.

"You know what lady-" Rose started. Lissa grabbed a hold of her cousin's wrist sitting her down from her half standing position.

The waitress took that as her cue to reappear.

"Ready to order?" she asked, oblivious to the thick tension around the table.

Everyone ordered a meal and then it came to Rose and Dimitri to order.

"You first," he offered.

She feigned surprise.

"How courteous of you. I don't remember kindness being one of your better qualities," Rose said glaring at Dimitri.

He figured she was referring to their last encounter. Dimitri figured she had the right be upset and feel used and cheap but in all fairness, in his defense, he had warned her ahead of time.

_So why do I feel slightly guilty. _

The thought was fleeting and he focused on avoiding similar ones.

"What will you have Miss?" The waitress asked.

"A bottle of your strongest liquor," Rose ordered.

"Rosie," Lissa chastised her.

"Oh yeah and…who's paying for this lunch?" Dimitri heard her ask.

"Aunt Tasha's treat," Christian answered. "Why?"

Rose ignored him and turned back to the waitress. "The most expensive entrée on the menu to go with the liquor. You could just wrap my meal up to go though, I don't really have the stomach to eat anymore."

Whether or not that last comment was directed at Natasha or Dimitri, he wasn't sure.

The waitress took Dimitri's order and left the five of them in another awkward silence.

"So…Aunt Tasha. How are things?" Christian asked hoping to spark conversation.

Tasha flicked out her napkin spreading it over her lap.

"I've been better," she answered.

Christian nodded, unsure of how to respond. Dimitri vaguely remembered during the few times he met Christian; the boy had a flippant and sarcastic attitude. Christian probably figured that wouldn't help the current uncomfortable situation.

"Have you two set a date?" Christian asked.

"Soon I hope. I want a nice, classy wedding, nothing rushed but we've been engaged for so long, I think people are starting to think we're never going to get married."

_Always worried about what everyone else thinks._

Another quick thought that appeared in Dimitri's head. This unavoidable tense situation was really making him squirm, mentally anyway. He decided he'd distract himself as Christian asked a few more vague questions trying to form a conversation between his aunt and his girlfriend.

First he tried staring out at the view but Natasha had assumed he was staring at her and she'd smile, making a show of running a hand along Dimitri's leg under the table.

Then he tried just watching the table, thinking of whatever work he had waiting for him at home but that didn't really help because he couldn't actually do any of the work until he was home.

Lastly. His distraction was Rose.

He figured the reason for his discomfort would make a good distraction or at least that plan sounded better in his head.

He could hear their voices in the background but all of the noise dulled to a nice buzz as his eyes narrowed in on Rose. It was almost like she was moving in slow motion as she reached for the large glass of liquor the waitress set in front of her and the bottle to go with it. Dimitri examined her tan; almost ivory skin, her curvy figure that shaped her business blouse nicely, but her most striking feature would always be her eyes

Dimitri remembered their few encounters in the motels and each time he couldn't bring himself to look away from her striking bright eyes so he had distracted himself but burying his mouth against her neck running fervent kisses along her smooth skin.

She sat quiet now, sipping her liquor lightly. He noticed Lissa would cast a worried glance at her cousin and then would roll her eyes almost disappointedly saying nothing.

Dimitri found it odd, almost surreal, that Rose had a family, or knew people besides him. It made her someone real and that was never the way he wanted to think of the women he was sleeping with but this girl had become so very real.

He found himself watching her, looking her up and down in almost a pattern, head to toe which he could see through the glass table, as if he was trying to memorize every bit of her and figure out why she was here, how she was real, and how she had as odd affect on him that even he, a doctor, couldn't explain.

After around the fiftieth time he'd done so, he realized she was dressed pretty nicely, almost formal and he remembered that she was suppose to be the assistant he hired as a favor.

This was where his bit of fun could kick in.

"I hear you're looking for a job," he says, cutting into the meal the waitress sets in front of him. Natasha and Christian are engrossed in a conversation and don't notice Dimitri trying to stir a conversation with Rose.

Lissa glances up from her own plate and looks from Dimitri to Rose but doesn't say anything.

Rose looks up from the glass gripped tightly in her hand for the first time. She stares over at Dimitri; surprised he's spoken directly to her. She pushed the Styrofoam of food aside to see him clearly across the table.

"I am," she answered curious as to where Dimitri was taking this. It sounded like she wanted to say more but Dimitri realized the liquor was taking it's affect and she wasn't speaking coherently.

"The spot is yours if you want it," he offered, getting straight to the point. Dimitri was never one to beat around the bush.

Natasha, catching wind of what was going on, spoke up.

"Perhaps we shouldn't rush into hiring anyone just yet. I'm sure there are candidates that are well suited for the job," she piped in.

"I'm sure there are but we don't even have to search for Rose. She's right here," Dimitri said taking a bite of his steak.

"I'm still qualified. I could still work as your secretary until we find a suitable replacement…one that isn't sloshed preferably."

"I wouldn't want my lovely wife to work when she doesn't have to or want to. Rose, the job is yours," Dimitri finished.

"I'll take it," Rose answered clearly enough.

"Then it's settled."

Dimitri was satisfied that he had his fun and he figured it was also a sort of warning to Natasha. If there was one thing Dimitri hated, it was being controlled as if he couldn't speak for himself.

Natasha was silent for the rest of the evening.

The entire table was silent until they stood in the parking lot ready to leave.

"Well, I cant say it's been fun," Tasha muttered. "You and I will have a little private luncheon of our own sometime to discuss a few things," she said to Christian but was watching Lissa.

Christian nodded. He shook hands with Dimitri and gave his aunt a hug before pulling Lissa away toward wherever Rose had parked.

"A pleasure meeting you," Rose said slowly following behind her friends. "And Dimitri, you already have my number. You can call me later so we can have a little chat of our own. And we'll talk about the job."

They disappeared across the street leaving Natasha stiff and tense and Dimitri highly amused.

Dimitri had classified Rose as one of the clingy girls he couldn't get rid of but now, with the prospect of fun and excitement brewing between them, he wasn't sure he wanted to.


	12. Chapter 12: Rose

_**Rose**_

"Why do you always do this to me?" Lissa asked.

On the ride home from the luncheon she had given one worded answers or didn't say anything at all and Rose knew this meant Lissa was upset but she thought it was because of the awkward luncheon.

Now that they were home, after dropping Christian off, Lissa had closed herself off in her room until it was dark outside and Rose had sobered up a bit after a quick nap. Rose woke up a couple of hours later and Lissa was pacing in front of Rose's bed anxiously.

"What?" Rose croaked. She thought about sitting up but there was a dull ache in her head telling her that wasn't the best idea.

"You always do things like this to me?"

"Lissa, I'm currently suffering from an acute case of the hangover illness making it very hard to understand what you're talking about."

Lissa groaned and through her hands up frustrated.

"That's my point. You had to drink today and cause even more of a scene at lunch. This was important to me and you ruined it."

Rose managed to slowly sit up on her bed.

"Things were going down hill before I even got there, L. And it's not like I did it on purpose I was just-"

Rose cut herself off. She wasn't sure how she had been feeling after seeing Dimitri today.

"You were just trying to ruin things for me because I actually have someone that wants me and loves me and you have-or should I say had- a guy that not only doesn't want you and treats you like dirt but that is engaged to someone else, Christian's aunt of all people!" Lissa finished for her.

Rose was sure she flinched but her body felt so numb and achy it was hard to tell. Lissa had never yelled at her like this, and she especially said nothing that hurt her this much. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. And yet as much as it hurt her Rose knew it was the truth. It's not like she had to drink today.

So thinking about all of this Rose said the only thing that she could say at a time like this.

"I'm sorry, Liss. I didn't…I didn't mean to…after seeing Dimitri I wasn't thinking-"

"You never do," Lissa muttered but her voice was softening.

For a few moments they just stayed there staring at one another. Rose wanted to say more, to apologize but since it hardly helped the situation the first time she didn't think another apology would help much.

Lissa exhaled deeply.

"Rose, things like this wouldn't happen if you started thinking before you act. Today, when you said that you were going to get a job on your own I was so happy and proud of you because I thought you were being responsible and standing on your own two feet but after the whole drinking thing you not only embarrassed me but you disappointed me. I just wish…" She sighed again, moving toward the bedroom door as if she wasn't completely sure what to say. "I just wish I didn't have two people to take care of instead of one."

She gave one last long look before closing the bedroom door behind her leaving Rose feeling even more terrible than she had before.

In all of the lunch chaos she'd forgotten about her resolve to be a better person and now she was dealing with the consequences.

Lissa was mad at her, she embarrassed herself and her cousin, and…she suddenly remembered she did get a job today…with Dimitri.

"Rose, the situations you get yourself into," she said to herself. She stood up and went to shower, washing off the day's events.

She played out every possible scenario in her head on how to get out of this job situation but then she'd remember that she was suppose to have a job by now; she only took the job to have a little fun with Dimitri and to annoy his fiancé but if she was planning on growing up and being an adult this wasn't the best idea. And it's not like Dimitri would want her around. She couldn't figure out why he offered her the job in the first place.

Maybe he started rethinking things and wanted a permanent mistress after he was married.

Rose doubted this.

Dimitri had been pretty clear before about not wanting anything permanent and she doubted he had changed his mind so quickly.

Dimitri didn't seem like the type to do that.

She could just call Dimitri, remind him that he didn't want her in the first place, and find another job. She'd find a job, Lissa would be happy and Rose could move on from what she considered one of many low points in her life.

Now she just needed to build up the courage to call him.

"After my shower," she told herself.

Her shower was long over and she still hadn't done it.

"After I eat something."

She went downstairs, grabbed a microwave meal and a couple of Aspirin to make her headache go away, and headed back up to her room. She thought about detouring to Lissa's room to check on her but she saw that her light was off and decided against it.

She finished her makeshift dinner and still hadn't called.

"Before I go to bed," she convinced herself.

She spent a little while searching the Internet for alternatives jobs and tried to figure out why she was so reluctant to call him. She figured it might have something to do with her feelings toward him and that she just didn't want to talk to a guy that had hurt her.

She found a couple of jobs she'd go see tomorrow, logged off of the computer, and was about to climb into bed-without calling- when her phone rang.

She hesitated, worrying that it might be Dimitri. Grateful for caller I.D. she saw that it was Mia and answered it.

"What's up?" she asked trying to stop her rapid heart beating.

"Things are dead here at work and I thought I'd call since we really didn't get to talk when you came to the bar the other night. However, I did see you leave with one of the hot guys I was trying to pick up," she added with a smile in her voice.

Rose groaned internally. She couldn't seem to avoid conversations involving Dimitri.

"Yeah…just some guy I knew," Rose confirmed.

"So it wasn't a one night thing?"

Rose laughed to herself. Technically she and Dimitri had a relationship that could be classified as a couple of one-night stands. She decided to fill Mia in one what's been happening. When she finished she heard Mia sigh.

"Wow! I've really been out of the loop. This Dimitri sounds like my kind of guy though, that'd be the perfect relationship to me. Actually I take that back. If he had been open and willing when I offered he and his friend that threesome then he'd be perfect."

Rose laughed, something she hadn't done in a while.

"Yeah well, if you want him, you can have him. Remember, though, he comes with baggage, a fiancé."

"I once had a guy who not only had a wife, four kids, and two mistresses other than me. I could handle Dimitri."

"You're always in the perfect relationships aren't you Mia?"

"Pretty much," she answered mordantly.

"Well, not only is my love life nonexistent but so is my life in general," Rose said.

"Life's rough, kid."

"Life sucks," Rose corrected.

"Well, I think I have a solution to your Dimitri and Lissa problems."

'"Drinking is what got me into this in the first place."

"No, not that. For your Dimitri problem, it sounds like a good job. I can't believe I'm saying this but don't sleep with the boss. You have a job that'll start you off with a little bit of money until you figure out what you really want to do. That's how and why I started working at the bar."

"Because you slept with your boss?"

"No," Mia said inconveniently.

"Mia?"

"Okay yeah I did but still…I have a job and I haven't had any fun which, besides the occasional flirting."

"So I should stick with this job and completely ignore how awkward it'll all be?" Rose asked for clarification.

"It could be fun. You already agreed to it anyway," Mia reminded her.

"When I was drunk."

"You want to be more adult? Stick with your commitments, even the drunks ones. You're gonna have a lot of awkward moments in life might as well start with this one."

Rose laid back on her bed.

Mia was right, even if Rose wished she wasn't.

She wondered when her friends and family had decided to grow up and why she wasn't apart of it. She had made a commitment and this would be the perfect start to show herself and everyone else that she could be responsible and change.

"I guess you're right."

"I know I am. Call me later and we'll hang out."

They said their goodbyes and Rose was going to toss her phone into the night drawer but she remembered she still had one phone call to make.

* * *

**A/N: Another kidn of filler chapter but I promise that I have a plan for this story. RXR.**


	13. Chapter 13: Dimitri

**_Dimitri_**

Dimitri sat at his desk trying to focus on the work in front of him. He was distracted, replaying the day's events in his head and laughing quietly to himself.

"Something funny?" Tasha asked.

She had been putting the last of her files in order before she officially resigned as Dimitri's assistant. She had been in a sour mood since lunch and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"You have to ask?" he said between chuckles.

He knew she was a little upset wit him too for hiring Rose but he figured this made them even.

She rolled her eyes shoving the last files in her hand into a filing cabinet and slamming it.

"I can't believe you hired one of your whores to work for you!" she exclaimed.

"Just because a girl sleeps with a guy without knowing him does not make her a whore," he said casually, scrolling through his computer.

"I think it does."

"Then I guess that includes you too," he said smiling slightly.

There was brief pause before she said anything.

"We're not talking about me we're talking about how inconsiderate you are. From the story you told me in the car, this girl should have no reason to want to be around you so I don't understand why you'd hire her and I really don't understand why she'd accept."

"People aren't as predictable as you make them out to be."

She stood looking neatly crisp in her formal outfit, with her hands on her hips in front of Dimitri's desk. Her eyes weren't the dark blue he was used to but icy cold. He guessed that if she were anymore mad steam would've been coming out of her ears.

"Everyone has an agenda and yours and hers must be to tick me off," she concluded, ignoring his previous comment.

"My agenda involves finding a replacement for my future trophy wife who just yesterday told me that she didn't want to work," he reminded her.

She seemed at a loss for words for a second, something rare for Tasha.

She recovered quickly.

"Okay yes, I told you I didn't want to work but I wasn't anticipating being replaced by a young thing that gets ahead by getting it on with her boss. I expected to hire an old elderly woman for you."

"Believe me, Natasha, no one could replace you," he muttered.

Ignoring that comment she shifts on her feet, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I thought that we agreed to actually give this a try."

Dimitri laughed again to himself. This was another one of her tactics: guilt, something that never worked on him.

"Have I done something that's given you the impression that I intend to go back on our arrangement?" He asks innocently.

"You're kidding right?" She asked quirking a brow.

Dimitri was having a bit of fun with this.

"If you really plan on being my wife, you trust me."

Her thin brows seem to rise higher as if in disbelief.

"I might trust you more than I trust her. I mean did you hear the comments she made today?"

"Yes, Natasha, and you were all sunshine and lollipops," he said in a dry tone.

"I was as polite as was appropriate."

"To Christian," he pointed out.

"He's my nephew of course I was polite to him."

"It was just Lissa and Rose that you seemed to have a problem with."

"After today, can you blame me?"

Dimitri ran a tired hand over his face hiding his amusement. This conversation was starting to go in circles and Dimitri had his fun for a day.

"You know what? I think that you should trust your future husband and remember that we have a deal. I keep my promises, Tasha. I hired someone and it'll save us time on trying to find a replacement for you. It's over and done with."

He hoped that she would interpret that last part and apply it to his now nonexistent relationship with Rose.

He was being truthful now.

When making promises Dimitri was always one to keep his word.

Natasha just stared. "Alright fine," she grumbled as if she'd have to be forced to accept this.

"I still have a few things to do here so I'll just see you back at the house."

"Fine."

It was the same stiff conversation they had a lot of the time. Things seemed to be calming down and falling back to normal. She gathered her things and Dimitri noticed an expression cross her face that he'd seen a lot lately. She was plotting something. He didn't say anything about it but just decided to wait and see what would happen.

"I just hope you're really working and not playing when I leave here."

It was as if everything he just said went right over her head.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me."

He worked a few hours after that. When his eyes started to hurt from staring at the computer for too long he leaned back in his chair and closed them. This was his only downtime when he relaxed and just thought about everything that seemed to be going on his life. He always figured that once he'd be engaged that his life would be winding or slowing down but it seemed like things were only getting started. He tried to focus on random things but the same image kept appearing in his head.

"What have I gotten myself into with this girl?" he asked himself.

He wasn't completely certain who he was referring to.

Before he could figure it out his phone vibrated on the desk.

Glancing at the clock he realized it was later than he thought. He answered it wondering who was that was calling so late.

"Hello?"

"Dimitri?" a familiar voice asked.

He glanced at the I.D. It was Rose. He had programmed her number so that it would be easier to contact her when he needed her.

"Rose?" he asked surprised.

"I was just calling…about the job." She didn't sound so certain. He heard her sigh and a tremble in her voice. Dimitri guessed it had something to do with pride and having to rely on someone that had pushed her away for a job. "I wanted to see if it was still available…to me."

_She thought that I wasn't being serious, _he concluded to himself. _But like I said I keep my word. _

"I meant what I said, Rose."

He thought that she sounded something between a mix of relief, disappointment, and surprise.

"Oh…that's good. When should I start?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow is good."  
He gave her the address and she agreed.

"I'll be there…but Dimitri I think I should point out that us working together…we shouldn't…we can't…"

"I know, Rose. I'll be your boss. I'll expect us to have nothing but a business relationship," he reassured her.

It was a moment before she said anything and when she did respond she didn't sound completely assured.

"Okay…so I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

"Eight o'clock.," he reminded her.

"And Dimitri…I'm sorry for today…if I did or said anything that embarrassed you in front of your fiancé." She sounded sincere and he wondered what had happened to change her personality completely.

"It's forgotten. Fresh start tomorrow."

They hung up and Dimitri wondered if tomorrow really would be a good day, if it was possible that his was not only a fresh start but also the beginning of the rest of his new life.

He lay back in his chair again thinking if he was comfortable with this sudden change and after a while, decided he didn't control his own fate as much as he thought he did.

Destiny and Fate seemed to have their own plans for him.


	14. Chapter 14: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose arrived to work earlier than eight. She guessed it was because it she was nervous. It had been a while since she really worked and she had to admit to herself that she intended to impress Dimitri and show him that she could be a strong hardworking woman that didn't need him, even if he was the one giving her the job.

She sat in her car for a moment trying to catch her breath. It was rare that Rose was nervous. She wished that Lissa hadn't left so early for work and that she wasn't still mad at her and had given her reassuring words.

Rose decided she'd try and fix things with her cousin when she got home from her first day of work but first she actually had to get out of the car and go inside the building.

It was pretty nice, inside and outside.

It was the tallest building on the lower class block and the only clinic for miles. Rose would've never guessed that Dimitri was a doctor or owned his own clinic for that matter. It had surprised her on the phone when he had told her.

She walked through the front doors of the crowded lobby full of people and little kids running. The nurses behind the counter looked frazzled and running around. Rose couldn't seem to get any of their attention so she decided she'd find Dimitri on her own. She walked through the halls unnoticed.

She passed by different offices and examining rooms until someone finally noticed her.

"It's Rose isn't it?"

Dimitri's friend from the bar, Ivan, walked up, wearing the doctor's coat and carrying a clipboard.

Rose was a little relieved to have finally found someone she knew and a little nervous that she'd been caught wandering the halls.

"Yeah. Ivan right?"

"Dr. Zecklos around here but you can get away with just calling me Ivan. Are you lost?"

"Looking for someone actually."

His eyes widened and he gave a slight knowing nod.

"Oh you're here for an examination. Pregnancy test?"

Rose froze before shaking her head vehemently. "No! No! Actually Dimitri hired me as an assistant, a replacement for his…Tasha."

She couldn't seem to bring herself to acknowledge that Dimitri had a fiancé out loud.

Ivan nodded apologetically and surprised.

"He hired…you?"

"Surprising I know but yeah. I guess it's a kind of favor for…things I did for him," she said sheepishly.

She was a little ashamed that this was how she had gotten a job but it was a job nonetheless.

Ivan nodded, probably pretending to understand, and gestured to the clipboard in his hand.

"Well I have to get back to work but I think Dimitri is in one of the rooms at the end of the hall."

Rose thanked him and walked the rest of the way.

She thought that maybe she'd missed him until she heard a deep familiarly slightly accent voice.

"…two times a day and keep it wrapped. I'll take it off in a couple of weeks."

He was talking to a kid with a broken arm and his mother. They both thanked him and left the room past Rose.

He had spoken with a bit of care in his voice that she'd never heard before, softness if she could describe it that way. He didn't notice Rose right away, looking at his clipboard, and Rose took this time to admire him in his nice slacks, long sleeved t-shirt with a similar medical coat to Ivan's, black shoes and his hair pulled neatly back.

She remembered how soft it had been, running her fingers through his hair and immediately tried to make those thoughts disappear.

He was her boss now and she couldn't think of him that way anymore.

Finally looking up from his board he saw Rose.

"You made it." He glanced at the clock on the while and was a little surprised. "And early."

"Nervous," she admitted.

He nodded and handed her the file he'd been holding.

"The best way to get over those nerves is to get right to work."

She could smell his familiar soapy clean scent and took it all in. before she came here and after she had hung up wit him yesterday she spent her time convincing herself to only think of him as a boss and nothing else but standing here in front of him was a different story completely.

She took the file.

"To get you started your job is simply to hand me files I ask for and then to put them away when I tell you. If you're able to do that then you'll be given bigger tasks. Alright?"

She nodded.

He started walking and she took this as an indication to follow. "The job is basically following me to each appointment, being quiet, handing me what I ask for, and keeping the files in order."

He stopped walking and faced her to make sure she heard and understood. His expression seemed to soften along with his voice.

"It doesn't seem like much but it's the best I can offer to someone with only a high school degree."

"I'm just glad you offered," she admitted. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and wished it would stop.

He nodded simply and regained his business composure.

"You have two breaks, one for lunch and one for dinner but you won't always have to stay so late. Only on certain days when I'll need you to."

_He only ever wants to be with me when he needs something,_ she thought to herself.

"Are you ready?"  
She realized he was asking if she was ready for the day and all of these responsibilities to begin and nodded.

"You can put your purse in my office."

He led the way and this time she walked beside him but it was hard with his fast pace and long strides.

"I would've never guessed you were a doctor," she said voicing her earlier thought.

He gave a slight laugh without any real amusement while unlocking his office door.

"I get that a lot."

"I mean when we were together…" she let her words and her comment trail off, chastising herself for bring it up.

"What?" he asked curious. He gestured to the drawer that she could leave her purse in.

"Nothing."

"No tell me. I'll only think the worst if you don't."

"It's just that when we were together I always kind of felt like you were examining me, feeling me out as if I was something…. wonderful or extraordinary but now I guess it's just because of your doctor's hands," she said smiling almost sadly but recovered quickly.

Dimitri freezes; at a loss for words but when he does speak it surprised Rose a bit.

"When we were together, the last thing I was thinking about was me being a doctor."

Rose was a little confused as to whether or not this was a compliment but she decided to take it as one just to get through the day.

"Are you ready?" he asks again.

"Before I say yes…can I ask you something?"

"Quickly," he says. She realizes the brief niceness of before was completely gone now and it was all business.

"Why did you hire me?"

He stares at her for what seems like an eternity before looking down at a file he's plucked off of his desk.

"The truth?"

"Yes."

"Natasha asked me to."

Rose cringed at the mention of her name but was careful to hide it.

"Oh."

Dimitri looked up again, smiling slightly amused.

"Think of it as me returning a favor to you if you have to, just to get through the day," he told her.

They started walking out of the office and Rose didn't see any sign of Tasha in the office. She didn't figure Dimitri for the sentimental, keeps-a-picture-of-family-or-friends type anyway.

"Will she be around here…a lot?" she asked.

"With you here, most likely," he said with a smile in his voice.

Rose shook her head exasperated and sighed.

Not only was she anticipating this as a long day but also as the first of many long days she'd have to endure.

The day wasn't so bad though. She followed Dimitri in and out of what seemed like hundreds of appointments for hours. There were so many different people with different and weird injuries. One of the weirdest had been a man that came in with a toilet scrubber super glued to his butt.

"I don't think I'll even look at a toilet brush or my toilet the same way again. I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life. Are there usually weird things like this?" Rose had asked once the man left, and Dimitri was washing his hands.

"Not even on the list of odd things I've seen as a doctor," he replied.

"So why'd you do it if you don't mind me asking?" she added, remembering she had to be professional.

"Do what?" he asked drying his hands. "Take the scrubber off? Because if I left it there it could've caused some serious chaffing and-"

"No not that. Why'd you become a doctor?"

Dimitri didn't answer right away and Rose wondered if she'd crossed some personal line but she couldn't figure out how that would offend him. He took so long to answer it surprised her when he did.

"My mother was a sort of doctor and I wanted to be like her, helping people."

He left it at that and they moved on to the next patient.

Another couple hundred appointments passed by and Rose was so interested and fascinated that she didn't even take her first break. She thought about Dimitri's answer to her question a lot. It was mostly because it surprised her. Especially when he was nothing but kind and even joking with his patients but she could see a wall he was hiding behind. It was weird to describe. He was friendly but distant.

Rose watched as he helped all of these people and not one person left unsmiling. Maybe she liked helping others to. Her concern had always been helping herself and Lissa but being at the clinic changed that a bit.

One of the last patients of the day was a little girl who had come to clinic by herself.

She had a bunch of bruises and scraps on her arms, legs and face, some of them old and some freshly bleeding.

Dimitri asked for her name but the girl didn't answer.

"Will you at least tell me what happened?" he asked.

"I fell," she mumbled.

Rose, who had been sitting quietly in the corner looked up, curious.

The girl shrugged not meeting Dimitri's eyes.

"You fell all of these times," he asked pointing to a few bruises on her arm that were yellowing.

The girl didn't respond.

Rose had seen that look before. She had worn and perfected that look so many times before, especially as a kid.

The girl was scared and lying.

Dimitri had instructed Rose only to speak unless the patient asked her something or if Dimitri himself was talking to her but she couldn't help it.

The girl was shaking.

"I used to fall a lot too."

The girl seemed intrigued.

"Really?"

Rose nodded, hopping off of her stool. She leaned against the examination table beside the girl avoiding Dimitri's eyes incase he told her to stop whatever it was she was doing.

"At school and at home. It usually happened when someone pushed me though."

The girl froze, biting her lips anxiously.

"I was so embarrassed and hurt that I'd tell people I fell and I'd keep it to myself because I thought it was my fault that people didn't like me and wanted to hurt me."

Rose had never talked about this before and she wasn't sure why she was doing it now. She figured that she just didn't want to see a scared little girl feel the same way she had without anyone around to help her.

"People don't like me either," the girl whispered as Dimitri cleaned and bandaged a few of her bruises.

"Family and the kids at school?"

The girl nodded.

Rose tugged off the sweater she was wearing and flipped her long hair over her shoulder to show the long scar that ran from the upper part of her arm across her shoulder. It was always well hidden beneath her hair.

"This was the worst scar I got when I fell and after I got this scar I decided I had to tell someone so that they could help me. Hiding it wouldn't make it go away or stop it from happening," Rose explained.

"You told someone?"

Rose nodded suddenly feeling like she was in an after school special. "I told me cousin and best friend and she made it all better."

"I think I should do that too.," the girl concluded.

"And if that doesn't help you can always come back here," Dimitri told her finishing the last of the bandaging.

The girl left, with a bit of a smile and Rose felt like she made a bit of a difference.

She walked with Dimitri as he went around to close up the clinic for the night.

"So was that story true?" he asked so suddenly breaking the comfortable silence Rose was startled.

She nodded. She was trying to balance putting her sweater back on over her bare shoulers and balancing the files in ehr hand. Dimitri stopped and helped pull her arms through but froze to run his finger along the length of the scar brushing her hair over her shoulders. Rose remembered his touch had always been warm and gentle, at least before things had gotten intense but his hands were never cold like a doctors. He pulled her sweater up the rest of the way and straightened it out on her shoulders.

"Thanks," she muttered.

Rose decided that Dimitri was one of the strangest people she had ever met. His personality always conflicted with his actions.

"I never noticed that scar before."

"You were sort of preoccupied with other things," she reminded him.

He gave her a side-glance as they walked.

"You did a good job today," he complimented.

"I didn't do much. I only did what you told me."

"That's enough to make a difference."

Rose thought back. She had done what she was told, learned a few things and saw knew sides of Dimitri and had an after school special moment with a total stranger. Yeah, she considered the day a success.

"You can take your lunch and dinner breaks next time though," he told her. "Don't feel obligated to stay."

"I wanted to. I like being here and helping."

They walked into Dimitri's office and he sat behind his desk while she put the last files away.

Her words seem to surprise him.

"The job will have that affect on you sometimes," he smiled.

"Do you think that girl will get help?"

"I hope so and if not she knows she can come back here," he reassured.

Rose felt good and all of her worries from before seemed to vanish. She was about to tell Dimitri all of this and he was about to say something too when the office door opened and Tasha walked in.

"Nice to see you again Rose," she greeted curtly.

Rose took a deep breath letting it out slowly with the only possible thought running through her head, _So much for my good day._


	15. Chapter 15: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"It makes no sense to quit your job and then comeback on the first day," Dimitri said a a little rudely.

Natasha was distracted, staring down Rose so he doubted she really heard him.

"I just came to see how the first day went. Can you blame me for being curious?" She asked finally breaking her glare at Rose and looking at Dimitri. She walked around the desk and rested her hands on his shoulders as if claiming possession.

Dimitri was having enough of her games. Today had been along day although things had been going smoothly. Rose worked better than he had expected. For the first time in a long time he was reminded of why he became a doctor. He liked helping people because it gave him that good feeling inside.

Now, though, that feeling was starting to fade.

"Things went fine today," he said simply.

He stood letting her arms fall from his shoulders. He moved to the filing cabinet to replace the last of the files that had been taken out.

"Well that's good I guess," Tasha said sounding a little disappointed.

Dimitri guessed that she had expected chaos or that she would catch he and Rose together. The truth of the matter was that Tasha thought she was irreplaceable but in actuality Rose had done her job better than Tasha ever had. Dimitri wouldn't say this out loud, at least not right now.

"I'm glad you had an okay first day," she said to Rose.

Rose just nodded.

She looked as if she biting her tongue to keep from speaking.

"I actually came here to make amends," Natasha said an awkward moment later.

"You did?" Both Dimitri and Rose asked surprised.

Dimitri wasn't buying it.

He suddenly remembered the expression he had noticed on Tasha's face before she left yesterday.

_Conspiring._

"Yes, I did. I actually even called your cousin to apologize and to invite you and her to a dinner party I'm planning on hosting this Saturday."

This surprised Dimitri even more and made him suspicious.

"That's…nice Rose said." She sounded weary as if she didn't trust any of the words coming out of Tasha's mouth and Dimitri couldn't blame her.

"Am I invited to this dinner party?" Dimitri asked closing the filing cabinet.

She gave him a pointedly look and said," of course."

She turned back to Rose. "I've already given your cousin all of the details. It's a couples party," Natasha said almost excitedly.

Dimitri almost expected her to clap her hands together and jump up and down.

"Then I think things will be a little awkward for me," Rose muttered pulling her coat on.

"Yes, yes, I know you're alone and have no one to be with but think of this party as an opportunity to meet someone."

Dimitri wasn't sure if she meant for that to sound nice. It sounded more like an insult to him.

"Why does everyone keep trying to fix me up?" he heard Rose mutter to herself.

Natasha, not hearing, continued talking.

"I've invited Lissa, Christian, Dimitri's friends Ivan, and an old friend of mine, Adrian," Natasha listed.

Now Dimitri was definitely suspicious. Tasha had never liked Ivan, even when they were in high school. As for inviting Adrian, Dimitri vaguely remembered him from college. He had been the star soccer player and the school's playboy. Dimitri had been less of a lady's man back then. He had made a vow not to let any women prevent him from finishing school as soon as he could.

"I think he'd be perfect for you," Tasha was saying.

Rose looked sheepish, a little tired, and wanting to go home. "That's nice and all but-"  
"Oh it would make me and I'm sure it would make Lissa and Christian happy."

Rose looked stuck. She glanced at Dimitri for help but before he could say anything she nodded.

"Alright. I'll be there," she agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow Dimitri."

Once she left Natasha smiled and looked at Dimitri.

"This going to be fun."

"I think you mean interesting."

* * *

The rest of the week went by in kind of the same manner.

Rose came to work earlier than expected, she'd follow Dimitri and did whatever he asked; They'd go in and out of examining rooms and every so often Rose would talk to someone who had come in alone to make them feel better. This always amazed Dimitri he would just silently work while he listened to her in awe. She left as late as Dimitri did and then the cycle would start all over.

She'd miss her lunch and Dinner breaks so Dimitri decided to just bring extra food for Rose one day.

_They'd just finished their last appointment before lunch and Rose just sat in Dimitri's office alphebatizing while he pulled out a lunch a bought earlier. _

_"Aren't you ever hungry?" he asked sitting behind his desk._

_"I always eat a big dinner when i get home, so no," she anwsered without looking up. _

_"As a doctor I have to advise you that it isn't healthy," he told her. _

_"I've gone days without eating. I don't think a few hours will kill me."_

_Dimitri thought about asking why she would go so many days without eating but latley he had found himself crossing that personal line and decided it was best if he tried to keep it professional. It seemed to be working for them. _

_He simply pulled out an extra plate from one of his drawers and a fork._

_"Come, Sit and eat," he instructed._

_She looked at him and smirked. She stuffed the files in the cabinet and sat across from him still smiling. _

_"What's so funny?" he asked putting half of his food on her plate. _

_"Nothing it's just...are you always this...demanding?" she asked amused. _

_"As your boss I think it's kind of required."_

_"Even when you're not working you've been...demanding," she smiled taking a bite of the food. It had taken Dimitri a moment to figure out what she was refering to and when he did he couldn't help smiling._

_"I like being in contorl," he admitted. "Then I feel like everybody wins."_

_"That's true."_

They had continued their lunch and all of the lunches after that in silence but it comfortable. Sometimes they'd share a little small talk about a weird patient or he'd anwser one of Rose's many questions.

She never brought up Tasha and Dimitri was grateful. He finally had a place that didn't revolve around his future wife and where he could forget about everything for a moment.

Natasha had been really making him suspicious at home. She wasn't her usually snide self or forcibly cheerful. It was a real. She was happy and excited about this dinner party and whenever Dimitir asked why she'd smile and say," I'm just looking forward to having all of our new friends together in one place. It's going to be fun."

"You've never liked Ivan or Evan. What made you invited them?" Dimiti had asked.

"The more the merrier," she said simply.

"And what made you invite Adrian? We haven't seen him in a while."

"Actually to be honest _you _haven't seen him in a while. I've seen him a couple of times since graduation," she admitted without any shame at all.

"I bet you saw him in more ways than one," Dimitri muttered.

Natasha looked at him and smiled.

"All in the past," she breathed. "Why are you jealous?"

"Yes because jealousy is always one of my more prominent characteristics," he said sarcastically.

In all honesty Natasha had always been the easily jealous one. Dimitri recalled a time when they weren't even really dating and she caught him with a girl and she nearly gouged her eyes out.

She had become a little bit more civilized since then. That's when she'd decided to start using dark tactics to keep women away from Dimitri. He had foudn it somewhat amusing before. It was a weird game between them. He figured it was just easier to not date at all until they had made their arrangment.

They were older now and Dimitri found the attention less apealing.

He decided to leave the conversation at that since Natasha wasn't saying anything more about the topic, and he decided to wait and see what was going to happen at the dinner party.

Ivan must've had the same suspicions because the day before the dinner party he asked Dimitri what this was all really about.

"You're fiance is really scaring me," he said as they walked down the hallway.

Rose had left early to ge ready for tomorrow night.

"I live with her," Dimitri pointed out.

"That's frightening. So what's the deal with tomorrow?"

"I don't know. All I know is that there's some underlying reason for having this party and she's not lettingme in on what it is but then again she never does."

"I think it has something to do with your ex-mistress," Ivan said smiling.

"Unfortunately so do I. Do you have a date for this party thing?"

"Are you asking me?" Ivan said jokingly.

"I would but I think Tasha expects me to be her date. Why don't you bring your brother?" Dimitri suggested.

"As a date?"

"For company. I think it'll make the party even more exciting," Dimitri said chuckling.

"I would but even Evan is settling down. He met some chick at Victoria's Secret and now they're all serious."

Dimitri was surprised. Everyone seemed to be pairing off and finding love, even the unlikely. He was marrying Natasha but it obviously wasn't love. He wondered why he was settling so easily and then he remembered it was to save himself any heartache and trouble even though he seemed to be getting it anyway.

"You're brother was at Victoria's Secret because...?" Dimtiri asked, trying to figure out if he really wanted to know the anwser.

"I think he was buying a gift for our stepmom for her birthday although sometimes he goes there to pick up women but I don't think he gets how creepy that is," Ivan explained.

"I don't wanna know what kind of household you grew up in where you buy gifts for you stepmom from Victoria's Secret. You know what? Next time I ask you a question, do me a favor and don't anwser."

Dimitri spent the rest of the day dreading the party. No one seemed as excited as Natasha was. Even Rose couldn't help but voice her own suspicions earlier that day.

_They were eating their usual lunch._

_Dimitri could tell that she wanted to say something but it seemed like she was tyring to find the right wording._

_Dimitri waited patiently._

_It wasn't until they finished lunch that she finally asked._

_"So what do you know about this Adrian your wife is trying to set me up with?"_

_"She's my fiance," he corrected automatically._

_"I didn't realize there was a distinction between the two."_

_Dimitri ignored that. "I haven't seen Adrian in years."_

_"Well then what was he like when you last saw him?"_  
_"He was...the star soccer player," Dimitri said simply._

_He couldn't remember why but he didn't like Adrian._

_"Was he a player in more ways than one?" Rose asked smiling._

_"He dated every girl and maybe a couple of teachers."_

_"Ah. Think he's still the same?" She asked._

_"Let's hope not."_

She had looked up then and stared at Dimitri curiously, like she was trying to figure him out. Dimitri had to admit, he had treated her pretty badly but to have someone else do it, was something he didn't want to see.

He couldn't explain it, even to himself, but he was tyring to repent and make up for everything he did to Rose. Before, when he had hired Rose he intended to make the most out of it as a last bit of fun before he married but now he had a different idea.

That's why it was bothering him so much that Tasha seemed to have other plans.

The only thing he realised he could do now was wait and see what would happen at this dinner party.

Natasha told him to expect the best and that it would be fun but he couldn't help expecting the worse.


	16. Chapter 16: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose really didn't want to go.

She had already let Lissa down once though and she knew she couldn't do it again, especially not twice in the same week. She figured the dinner wouldn't be so bad since Mia had been invited to come.

She thought things might go over better if she had another friend to keep her company. She asked Dimitri the day before after giving him the third degree about this Adrian guy Natasha was trying to set her up with.

"_Would it be alright if I brought my friend Mia as a little insurance…or actually reassurance?"_

_Dimitri had smiled. "Are you doubting Natasha's taste in men?" His playful side would rear its head at the most unexpected times. Rose enjoyed these small moments._

"_Can you blame me?" She retorted. _

_Dimitri's smile had faded a little. "No, I guess not."  
Rose thought that she should try and reassure him that he wasn't the_ worst _guy she had ever encountered but she figured that would be a lie. He was pretty high on the list of awful guys. _

"_I'm sure Natasha won't mind."_

_He didn't sound certain._

"_Well, we'll just see how everything goes. It should add a bit of excitement to the evening I'm already anticipating as interesting."_

"_Yeah and if things work out with this Adrian guy, although I have my doubts, Mia would be great for Ivan."_

"_Any thing with legs and a heartbeat is good for Ivan…and even then I don't think he's that picky," he added. _

_Rose had laughed. _

She had been having a pretty nice week.

Dimitri even surprised her a few times with his unordinary niceness.

Rose decided she liked her job, she might even like Dimitri a little bit well but she wasn't looking forward to this dinner. She just wished it were over and done with.

She wasn't sure what to wear because the only dinner parties she'd ever been invited too revolved around a beer keg and about a hundred college students. She decided to pull on a simple spaghetti strapped black dress and a pair of converse. She was going for comfortable.

She hurriedly brushed her hair and ran down the stairs to where Lissa was already ready and waiting with Christian and Mia. Lissa still wasn't really speaking to Rose but Rose figured if this dinner went better than the luncheon she might forgive her a little.

"Are you finally ready?" Christian complained.

"Can I help it if I look to look nice and be comfortable," Rose said grabbing her sweater.

"Lissa takes half the time you do to get ready and she ends up looking better."

Rose shot him a dirty look.

"I think you look gorgeous my dear," Mia complimented. She herself was wearing either a really long camisole or a really short dress.

"And you look…promiscuous."

Mia gave a haughty laugh. "Thank you."

This really was going to be a long night.

Rose wasn't sure what she expected when she saw Dimitri's home but this definitely wasn't it.

It was in a high-class neighborhood, a gate community. Everything was sharp edged and pointy. The house itself was similar to all of the others. There was a two-car driveway, wide windows, and wooden paneled walls. Everything looked in order.

On the walk up to the door Lissa appraised her cousin. "You look nice."

Rose smiled to herself. Lissa was forgiving her a little bit more.

"So do you."

Natasha was the one who opened the door. She was wearing a pencil skirt and a silky blouse Rose had seen in a magazine once that she wanted to buy. She wasn't sure if she wanted it anymore.

"Welcome," she greeted with a slight smile on her tight lips. "Come in, come in."

She ushered everyone inside, giving them the once over.

Rose was weary of her niceness.

"Rose you look…lovely." She glanced at Mia's outfit and decided just not to say anything. "Please come in."

She surprised Christian, Lissa and Rose by linking arms with Lissa while they walked further into the house.

"I don't like her," Mia decided.

"You just met her," Rose laughed.

"From what you told me plus my initial first impression, I don't like her. A witch can identify another witch and this woman is witchy. Plus, she didn't even comment on my evening wear!" She complained.

"She probably wasn't sure if you were wearing a camisole with no pants or a skirt as a dress," Rose said walking further into the house.

The smell of food cooking reminded Rose of Thanksgiving. She didn't figure Tasha for the cooking type and smiled when she spotted catering boxes as Tasha led them further into the house. The house was immaculate but Rose had expected that.

_Especially on a doctor's salary, _she thought walking past the chocolate leather furniture.

"Everyone is in here," Natasha was saying.

She stood off to the side as they walked into a neat living room where Ivan sat in front of a bar and Dimitri stood behind it. They looked up as everyone entered the room.

"Well if it isn't the bartender," Ivan smiled standing.

His words were directed at Mia whose eyes looked a little bored.

"Do I know you?"

"Dirty Double," Ivan said simply.

Mia's eyes widened with recognition and her lips pulled into a wide grin

"Oh….how could I forget a cutie like you," she muttered more to herself than to Ivan.

There was one of those long drawn out moments where Mia and Ivan hungrily stared each other down while everyone else looked on.

"Do you two want to get a room?" Christian asked finally interrupting the silence.

"Sure, Natasha would you mind?" Mia asked.

Rose hoped she was joking.

Lissa groaned, embarrassed, covering her face with her hands.

Natasha looked shocked and unsure of what to do or say for once.

"Why don't we sit or drink or something?" Rose suggested tugging on Mia's arm.

Everyone else was awkwardly trying to recover from the silence before by making small talk while Mia pulled Rose aside.

"You've been holding out on me," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"That's the other guy, the one I was trying to have a little fun with that night at the bar," Mia explained.

"You mean Ivan?"

She nodded as if it was supposed to be obvious. "Duh."

"He's Dimitri's friend and coworker. He's a doctor too."

"Even better." Mia leaned around Rose staring at Dimitri and Ivan who were serving drinks. "Is your affair with Dimitri officially over?"

"Of course!" Rose hissed. "Why?"

"If Dimitri is as sexually active as you described, I think I can still get a threesome from the both of them."

"I doubt it but by all means don't let me stop you," she laughed.

They moved closer to the others where Tasha was talking to both Christian and Lissa while Mia sauntered over to Ivan. Rose could tell that Mia wasn't going home tonight without having a bit of fun. That's how Rose used to be too but she realized she matured a lot in the last week and was proud that finally she was the one on the outside watching her friend be the wild one.

"At these dinner parties it's customary to have a drink or two but given your past experience with alcohol I'm thinking I might just give you water," Dimitri said breaking Rose from her thoughts.

Her initial plan had been to keep her distance from Dimitri. She didn't want to give Tasha nay ideas or start anything up tonight but she hadn't thought about how difficult such a task might be since she was in Dimitri's house.

She glanced at Tasha, who was still talking to Lissa and Christian. Dimitri followed her gaze and gave a slight smile while drying a glass and setting it on the counter.

"She doesn't bite," he said with a chuckle. "Usually."

"I have the memory of a certain luncheon that proves you wrong," Rose said before strolling over to Dimitri.

"I said 'usually'," he reminded her. She stood far enough away from the bar that Dimitri could get a good look at her. He didn't say anything about her outfit but from what she could tell by his appraisal was that she looked pretty good. He didn't undress her with his eyes in that hungry way he did before tearing her clothes off. It was a friendly, nice look.

"So, what'll it be?" He asked. "I highly recommend the water."

"I think water sounds good enough for tonight. I told Liss I'd be on my best behavior anyway," she muttered sitting in front of him.

"Funny. I made a similar kind of arrangement."

They shared a brief look before Dimitri turned his attention to where Ivan and Mia were standing close together in a far off corner of the room.

"I should probably warn you. Mia's made it her goal to get the two of you in bed tonight," Rose said taking the water he offered.

"I think Ivan has the same plans," Dimitri muttered shaking his head. "I draw the line at threesomes."

"Not wild enough for you?"

"A little bit too wild," he said. There was a brief pause before he leaned on the counter toward Rose so that their conversation was private. "I might not have given you the best impression of myself regarding…relationships and sex but I still believe in the intimacy of two people being together because they want to share a natural experience."

"Is that what we were doing because the experience I shared with you was not natural…mind-blowing, yes."

The words were already out of her mouth before she thought of what she was saying. Dimitri's lips quirked. "Yes, that's every woman's response after a night spent with me," he joked.

Rose laughed, slapping him on the arm. She liked these rare sides of Dimitri when his guard was down and he was playful. She had been worried before that it might be hard to maintain a business and professional relationship at a dinner party that she had anticipated as nothing but drama filled but so far everything was going okay.

"So you haven't told me what you think of the house," he said straightening up.

"It's…nice."

"Nice is the word you use when you don't know what to really say."

"It's very suburban."  
"I think that was the point when I bought the place. Tasha's idea. She thought it might make me more appealing as a doctor," he explained sighing. "Is it working?"

"Not really," Rose admitted. "It's missing…a personal touch," she said gesturing around the room to the bare walls with abstracting paintings on them.

"A personal touch? Like what?"

She kept expecting him to pull away because they'd crossed that personal business line.  
He seemed really intrigued by her words, though, so she thought it safe enough to keep going.

"Like…family pictures or pictures of friends or a nude painting of yourself or something, I don't know," Rose laughed and surprisingly brought out a full smile in Dimitri.

"So the first thing you want to see when walking into someone's house is their bold, naked body?"

"It was just an example."

_Besides, I've already seen you naked_, she thought smiling to herself and downing her water.

"You realize that it was only water right? Not the hard stuff," he said watching as she set her glass down.

"Yeah," she said sadly. "I picked a bad night to stop drinking. I'm… kind of nervous about meeting this Adrian guy," she admitted.

Just then, Dimitri's demeanor changed and Rose could practically see him close himself off again and she couldn't understand why.

"Where is he anyway?" she asked ignoring the shift in mood.

She guess maybe Dimitri didn't like Adrian.

_Is it because he was one of Tasha's flings?_ She wondered.

As if on cue the doorbell sounded throughout the house and Tasha nearly leaped out of her heels excited and moved for the door, ending whatever conversation she had with Lissa and Christian.

"I think that's him," Dimitri said.

He downed a shot glass of a copper liquid before moving out from behind the counter. Rose noticed a shared look between Ivan and Dimitri. She was going to ask what it was about when Tasha walked back into the room, arm and arm, with a man about Dimitri's equal in height, with dark black hair and bright green eyes that were so striking, Rose couldn't help but stare.

Tasha paused on the entrance into the room, searching the many faces until she spotted Rose. Almost a little too eagerly she walked over with the man and stood directly in front of her.

"Rose, this is Adrian. Adrian, Rose," she introduced.

The man gave a smile and extended his hand. He shook Rose's hand gingerly. She was hit by a wave of sweet cologne but she ignored the strong scent, distracted but Adrian's charming looks.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she responded.

Natasha stared between the two of them like she was watching a ping-pong match and couldn't seem to stop grinning and Rose practically cringed at the next words out of her mouth.

"I think you might make a nice couple."

* * *

_**A/N: So sorry for the long delay. SAT's, AP's, and loads of homework. No excuse though. I'll UD soon. R&R.**_


	17. Chapter 17: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

Dimitri had been surprised.

Rose looked beautiful but then again he had always seen her as beautiful. She was among the lucky girls that beauty had come natural to.

It was a different kind of beauty tonight, though. He couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Rose had dressed up for the few encounters they had but this time it seemed like she dressed more for herself than to please anyone else.

At least that's how Dimitri wanted to think of it.

The thought of Rose dressing up to meet Adrian gave Dimitri a tightening feeling in his stomach he couldn't quite explain. It wasn't jealousy. At least that's what he was telling himself. It was more about his dislike of Adrian.

Rose surprised Dimitri even more by her initial reaction upon meeting Adrian.

A full two minutes had passed since they'd been introduced and shook hands and Rose was still gawking and held his hand in tight clutch.

Dimitri tried to pretend he didn't hear the words come out of Natasha's mouth but it was kind of hard since she couldn't stop talking.

"…knew you two would make a nice match," she was saying.

Adrian took advantage of Tasha's sudden silence to notice Dimitri standing not far off near the bar.

"Belikov, longtime no see. Or do you prefer I say Dr. Belikov?"

And that's when Dimitri remembered, or partly, one of the reasons he didn't like Adrian. He could practically see the arrogance in the man's voice.

"I'd like to hear you say goodbye," Dimitri said smiling.

Adrian, amused, stepped closer to shake his hand.

Dimitri's plan was to promptly, an immaturely, ignore it if it hadn't been for a warning reminder look from Tasha. He suddenly hated that he was a man of his word.

Adrian had a tight grasp of his hand.

"Always a pleasure seeing you Belikov," he said as if they often saw each other.

Dimitri could barely remember why he didn't like the man in the first place, let alone seeing him any other times.

"Likewise," he lied. "You remember, Ivan?" He introduced, remembering his friend was in the room.

Ivan didn't move from where he stood beside Mia further back in the room.

"I don't actually," Adrian said as if he could care less.

"It's okay, I remember you," Ivan muttered, adding an indiscernible profanity afterward.

Natasha, taking notice of the tension in the room was quick to try to break it. It was irritating Dimitri even more now that he couldn't figure out what her angle was in all of this.

"You remember my nephew Christian and this is his…girlfriend Lissa." It seemed she still couldn't get the word out without cringing, no matter how forced her happiness was.

"Which reminds me," she said turning on her heel, pulling Christian along with her. "Did you bring the surprise?"

"What surprise?" Christian asked curious.

Dimitri noticed how confused everyone in the room was besides Natasha and Adrian it seemed and Rose was still gaping off to the side.

As if answering Christian's question the front door opened and a young woman, tall and curly haired stood at the entrance to the living room. Dimitri vaguely recalled seeing her before. She searched among the faces staring back at her before breaking out into a very cheeky grin and leaping into Christian.

"Oh Chris it's been so long!" The girl squealed.

"Jill," Christian breathed trying to recover from the wind knocked out of him from her tight hug.

"And I was afraid you wouldn't remember me," Jill said.

She stood back far enough away to look Christian over but not far enough so that they weren't touching.

"You look great."

"So do you," Christian said before remembering he had a girlfriend in the room. He couldn't seem to break away fast enough from Jill and move back toward Lissa's side.

"Jill this is my-"

"Girlfriend," Lissa interjected standing stiffly beside Christian even with his arm around her shoulders.

"And Lissa this is my…Jill."

"His ex-girlfriend," Jill said in what could only be described as a challenging tone.

It took him a while but Dimitri was finally, but slowly, putting the pieces together. This dinner tonight wasn't about making amends. It was Tasha playing one of her games trying to push Lissa and Christian apart. He was amazed, amused, and irritated all at once.

"Oh this should make for interesting dinner conversation," Mia commented.

"And speaking of dinner, let's eat, shall we," Natasha said cheerful. She locked arms with Christian, tugging him away from a still stunned Lissa once more, while Jill sashayed along beside him in her high heels and skintight animal print dress.

"It's official, this party just lost its cool factor," Ivan complained standing near Dimitri.

"I think you just any cool factor by saying that," Mia laughed standing between them.

"I think this is going to make for an interesting evening," Dimitri put in, a bit reluctant to follow behind Adrian who was walking beside Rose toward the dinning room.

"Welp, I have an idea of how to make this better so that the three of us can be happy," Mia proposed, reaching her arms around both men's shoulders casually.

Ivan and Dimitri shared a look, looking down at Mia.

"It's a game that takes three to play," Mia said in a singsong voice.

Ivan quirk his brow, waiting for Dimitri's response.

Dimitri stepped away heading toward the dining room.

"I think I'd rather endure this…fun filled dinner," he called over his shoulder.

He could still hear Mia as they followed behind, her voice a little disappointed, "Dinner might be more interesting anyway. I feel I'm on some soap opera or something. I mean this is something I might do," she laughed. "This Tasha lady seems more and more like my kind of girl if she's really this witchy."

"You have no idea," Ivan said.

Dimitri couldn't help but silently agree.

* * *

_**A/N: So sorry for such a short filler chapter. I actually have plans for this story, I'm just having trouble getting all of my thoughts together with school wearing me down. I'll UD soon (With hopefully a longer chapter). Oh, and, I totally understand if this short chapter deserves 0 reviews.**_


	18. Chapter 18: Rose

**_Rose_**

"Tasha told me you were a knock out, if you don't mind my saying so."

It was a pretty corny line if Rose had ever heard one and she'd heard them all. Somehow, though, she couldn't seem to get over how surprisingly good looking this Adrian guy was and that Natasha was so eager to befriend the woman who slept with her husband just a few days before.

"I doubt that. Tasha and I aren't exactly besties," she replied, trying to fight the urge to stare.

There was something about him, his bright green eyes that were so distracting she could hardly manage to look away. He had…pretty looks, she decided. Dimitri

"She only said good things about you, trust me."

_Doubtful, _she said to herself.

"And why should I trust you?" Rose asked.

Flirting had always come easy to Rose. The past week she had been simply working had distracted her from any love woes she'd been having but now with the opportunity of meeting someone new, a potential love interest…

_Old habits die hard._

Adrian seemed to be ready with answers, as if he'd had practice or used these words so many times before. "Instead of me answering that question here, lemme take you out and give you a reason to trust me," he offered.

They'd stopped walking a little bit away from the dining room.

"What…right now?" she asked surprised.

"Why not?" He shrugged as if it was nothing.

Rose had to admit she was tempted to go but a quick glance at Lissa, glaring at Christian and Jill across the dining room, gave her more incentive to stay.

"I would but I'm a sucker for drama. I think I should stay here with my cousin…make sure she's okay," she admitted.

"Wouldn't it be kind of awkward eating dinner with the woman whose husband you slept with?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face, echoing her earlier thoughts. She couldn't help the look of surprise on her face. She was embarrassed and ashamed so many people knew.

Adrian continued talking. "Besides, your cousin looks like a strong girl. You can check on her later." He leaned in a little closer still trying to coax Rose further into going, cornering her. She couldn't pinpoint what it was about him but suddenly she felt like she couldn't say no.

"Alright." It was said reluctantly but she felt the need to show him she wasn't some home-wrecker. "Lemme just tell Liss, I'm leaving."

Lissa was standing close to where Jill was talking animatedly to Christian, her arms folded across her chest.

"Have you heard the phrase looks can kill?"

"Yeah," Liss answered not really listening.

"Well you're wearing one of those killer looks right now," Rose said still trying to get her attention.

"Uh-huh."

"Lissa, I'm a lesbian and I have realized my somewhat incentuous love for you."

"That's nice," she said in a daze.

"I thought that one would get your attention for sure. Well if any relationships with men don't work out for me I know I'll have you," Rose said jokingly. She grabbed Liss by the shoulders standing in front of her blocking her vision. "Common Liss, snap out of it." She pushed her cousin a little ways away. "Christian loves you, he would go to the ends of the earth for you, he'd walk around in a bikini if you asked him to, he'd do anything for you."

"I know," Lissa, sighed leaning around Rose still glancing at Jill. "It's her I'm worried about.

"It takes two to cheat and Christian wouldn't do anything to ruin what he has with you."

As Rose was saying this, she wished she had someone as dedicated to her as Christian was. She didn't get along with him but he was good to her cousin and she just wanted what was best for her cousin. She also wanted what was best for herself and that meant completely letting go of all of bad choices she made and going out with someone who was willing to leave a party and be with her.

She glanced at Adrian who was waiting for her, joined by Dimitri.

"Right now, I have an opportunity to get the same thing if I go out with this Adrian guy who wants to leave the party a little early. Are you cool here?"

Her cousin met her eyes directly for the first time and nodded.

"Yeah. Go ahead, I'll be good here. Mia's here to hold me back if I have to scratch Jill's face off."

"That's very catty of you Liss. I'm proud."

"I was hoping this dinner would bring us all closer together, one big happy family, but…"  
"You're starting to see Tasha's witchy side?" Rose asked using Mia's earlier word.

"I saw it before but now…this…trying to break Christian and I up…" she couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

"Don't worry, the only person Christian wants is you and if he doesn't I'm just going to have to find something awful to do to him," Rose said half joking.

They shared a short laugh before Lissa pushed her cousin a little bit ahead of her toward Adrian.

"Go, have fun. You deserve it. Who knows this could be the true love I was searching for you," Liss said hopeful.

"Me too," Rose said skeptical. "Are you sure it's okay that I go?"

"Definitely. I'll just have to find my inner Rose if Jill keeps standing so close to Christian that way."

She left Lissa to further spy on Jill and Christian, walking toward Adrian and Dimitri. Mia intercepted her as she walked past.

"Leaving early girlie?" she asked ducking under Ivan's arm.

"Yeah he wants to take me out so that we're alone or something." Rose paused, thinking of what she just said. "That sounded less creepy in my head."

"I bet it did," Mia laughed. "I'm sure he just wants you alone to get a _feel _of who you are and all that."

"No sex. I just met him."

"Didn't stop you before."

Rose gave her a pointed look.

"We're going to get to know each other, that's all."

"I find that car sex is a great way to get to know someone," Mia suggested.

"Yeah well Lissa suggested this new method of talking to get to know someone so I'm on my best behavior. I've been doing well lately. And speaking of doing well how are your efforts for a threesome going?"

"Eh, it could be going better but the night's still young," Mia said beaming.

"If they agree to it, it should make for good conversation at the next dinner party, assuming you haven't pissed off Tasha enough and she doesn't catch you," Rose whispered despite knowing Tasha was in the kitchen. "It might change her opinion of Dimitri if he agrees to it. It might change my opinion of him too."

Mia went back to Ivan and Rose was nearing Adrian and Dimitri staring each other down.

"Everything…okay here?"

Dimitri looked toward Rose, startled while Adrian smiled, amused. Rose was sure it had something to do with whatever conversation she interrupted.

Adrian answered. "I don't know. Is it, Belikov?"

Rose could see the tight clench in Dimitri's jaw and became even more curious with what was going on between the two men standing in front of her when Dimitri gave his own response.

"For now, Ivashkov."

* * *

_**A/N: Short chapter, I know (the author's note is probably longer than the update). Apologies for delayed updates on all of my stories. The first semester of senior year is harder than I anticipated it'd be, with even less free time but I squeezing in updates when I can (something I'm sure all you awesome fans don't want to hear). Thanks for all of the reviews and I might be able to update tomorrow. -ladierock**_


	19. Chapter 19: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

Dimitri stood beside Adrian, both of them watching as she maneuvered through the dinning room to reach Lissa.

"I have to say, Belikov. You haven't exactly gone out of your way to make me feel welcome. Natasha has though."

"I'll bet she has. Care to share what exactly is going on here or have you not outgrown your mind games?" Dimitri asked ignoring Adrian's earlier remark. He might've been more irritated if his relationship with Natasha actually meant something to him.

"Isn't it obvious? Tasha simply wants a bit of security in her relationship and as a favor to my dear friend I agreed to take a certain long legged problem off her hands."

Adrian's words were so direct and blunt, Dimitri wasn't sure he heard correctly.

"Of course Tasha wanted her intentions kept quiet for a while but I figured even a 'genius' such as your self would see straight through her insincere friendliness," Adrian explained.

From across the room, Rose glanced at Adrian and her gaze seemed to widen at the sight of Dimitri

"And your just doing this kind favor out of the goodness of your heart, I presume, or is Natasha trading favors?"

Dimitri found it easy to believe things had gone this far. These were the same games they'd play in college.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Adrian replied coyly.

"Actually I don't care. If Tasha has something against me or some grudge for me cheating and hiring Rose to work for me that's between us. I don't know why she had to go sifting through garbage to bring you into this. Obviously we have enough problems as it is but involving a leech such as yourself surely isn't helping matters."

Adrian seemed unaffected by Dimitri's words. He actually smiled a bit, forced, so that those green eyes that Dimitri guessed Rose found so brilliant were shining as bright as before.

"I think I struck a nerve, Belikov," he chuckled.

Dimitri wouldn't admit it out loud but Adrian did strike a nerve bringing Rose into this but in honest truth Dimitri really couldn't blame anyone but himself. He was the one that involved Rose in all of this.

"Keep Rose out of your sick games," he said simply.

He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. They were so selfless he wasn't sure where any of this was coming from. He figured he'd decided somewhere in the back of his mind that he'd had enough games and just wanted to go about his life as simply as possible.

"Is that emotion I detect in your threatening warning? Have you become attached to your playmate? I thought I had you pegged as cold and distant." Dimitri thought he had himself figured out too Adrian leaned a little closer, lowering his voice so no one could hear his next words. "I hope you don't mind me intruding on your territory but really it's your own fault. You can't seem to keep your women happy. First Tasha and next Rose. Tell me; is Rose as good in bed as I imagine she is? I guess you won't be too pleased to hear that Rose agreed to leave this little get together with me so that we could have a little privacy of our own but even if you are bothered what exactly do you intend to do about it?"

For the first time in a long while, Dimitri truly didn't have a response.

Adrian took great pleasure in this.

Rose seemed to appear on cue.

"Everything…okay here?" she asked standing before the two men.

Adrian answered first. "I don't know. Is it, Belikov?" he asked cutting his eye at Dimitri.

Rose's expression fell into confusion and curiosity. Her brown eyes shifted from Adrian to Dimitri.

"For now, Ivashkov."

"Then I guess everything's good here," Adrian said leaning up off of the wall wrapping arm casually around Rose's waist. Dimitri's eyes focused on Adrian's hand tightening at Rose's waist, pulling her closer to him. Rose looked at Adrian confused. "I was just telling one of our hosts that we were leaving a little early. Are you ready to go?"

Rose started to nod but then glance sideways at Dimitri, almost blushing in embarrassment.

"Why don't you get the car?"

Adrian seemed a bit surprised and Dimitri thought he could see a small sign of irritation at her sudden reluctance but it passed quickly and he agreed. "Alright. I think I inform our other host of our early departure."

He gave Rose a tight squeeze, a wink for Dimitri, and then disappeared into the kitchen where Tasha was.

Rose seemed a bit nervous. "I've…never been one for formal parties."

Dimitri realized she was trying to apologize for leaving early. He started to tell her that it was okay and how he wished he could leave just as easily but then he realized he should be warning her.

"I don't think you should go."

Rose was completely confused now.

"What? Why? Adrian seems nice, not creepy at all but then I guess that's what everyone thinks before going out with a serial killer," she rambled.

"He's not who you think he is." It sounded clichéd, even to Dimitri but it was the truth.

"I she married?" She asked, half joking.

"No."

"Gay?"

"No."

"Unsure of his sexuality-"

"Rose it's none of those things," Dimitri tried to explain, moving Rose into the hallway away from others.

"Then it can't be that bad," she reasoned. "Right? Wait a minute. Lemme guess, he's not rich because if he's not that's definitely a deal breaker," she joked.

Dimitri started to notice Rose's habit of substituting fear or confusion with humor. Normally he found it amusing but with time running out before Adrian came back he wished she would simply listen.

He opened his mouth to speak again but Rose interrupted, her amusement before fading into seriousness.

"Dimitri…this is going to sound weird and I'm probably wrong but this isn't coming out of jealousy is it?" She couldn't seem to meet Dimitri's eyes for the first time since they met. "I know I'm just…I'm not even your mistress. I was a fling," she laughed nervously. "But…you know what never mind. This is probably just some male testosterone fueled macho showdown competition thing going on between you two, am I right? I'm sure one day we'll all laugh about this and you two will be good friends comparing notes on how amazing I am in bed," she concluded smiling.

Dimitri couldn't help smiling along with her, just a bit. He found this happening a bit too often.

"I doubt it," he answered truthfully, his smile fading.

He tried to speak again and warn her but Adrian conveniently reappeared.

"Shall we." He didn't wait for Rose to respond, instead just ushering her toward the front door with a firm arm around Rose.

She gave Dimitri a fleeting smile over her shoulder contrasting with Adrian's cocky one.

And for the first time in years Dimitri had a certain intense feeling.

He wanted to knock that smile right off of Adrian's face.

* * *

**_A/N: Another short update (my sincerest apologies). Calculus is kicking my butt though. I'll (hopefully) update by tomorrow or later on today. Thanks for the awesome (and funny) reviews. XD- ladierock _**


	20. Chapter 20: Rose

**_Rose_**

"So why are you sitting here in our kitchen alone and not in bed with Christian? Shouldn't you be having your morning after moment or something?" Rose asked grabbing some breakfast.

"Because Christian is a jerk."

Rose turned around in surprise to face her tired eyed cousin. "Really? For the first time we are in agreement? Christian is an ass."

"I didn't say that," Lissa half laughed.

"You didn't _not _say it. I chose to make my own interpretation of your word choice for Christian. Besides, it was implied by the ticked off look in your eye when you said it."

"It's all because of that stupid dinner party," Lissa grumbled.

"Why? What happened after I left?"

Lissa sighed, sipping her coffee. "It almost came to blows, R. Food was thrown, fists were flying, insults tossed back and forth. You would've been proud."

"Really?" Rose asked surprised.

"No. I sat by and watched that hussy flirt with Christian until she finally unwrapped her arms from around his neck and let us leave," Lissa admitted in a monotone.

Rose felt her face fall, disappointed. "I don't think people use the word 'hussy' anymore, L."

"Well since I had such a sucky evening I think I have the right to bring it back," Lissa said. "But enough about my suckish life. How was your date with this Adrian fellow."

"'Fellow'?" Rose asked, making a face at Lissa's word choice.

"Don't judge me. Now spill. What happened?"

Rose took this as more of a sign that Liss had finally completely forgiven her. She thought about how Lissa's night played out and wondered if it might've been different had she'd stayed and not went out with Adrian.

"It was...interesting."

"Good or bad?"

"Neither. The night wasn't good or bad it was...different."

Lissa looked confused. "How so?"

"Well...he was a complete gentleman."

"How awful?" Lissa said sarcastic.

"No. I mean he did _everything_ for me. He opened the door for me, scooted my chair in. Liss he even ordered my food for me without asking me what I wanted. It's like he was trying too hard or something," Rose explained irritated.

"You poor baby," Liss said again sarcastically. "Knowing you, you spoke up and said something about it."

This is where Rose hesitated. "No. I didn't actually. I tried...I started to but then he'd cut me off and say something and I'd loose my nerve."

"I don't believe you," Lissa said smiling popping a strawberry into her mouth.

Rose felt weird. She didn't feel like herself. It was true. For the first time in her life she didn't speak up or say anything when she was bothered by anything.

She couldn't seem to remember for the life of her why she didn't speak up. She remembers Adrian telling her about himself a bit. He talked a lot, she remembered that. It wasn't rambling but pure confidence, something Rose was lacking lately and found appealing, almost trying to feed off of Adrian's confidence.

Lissa, noticing how serious Rose suddenly was, motioned for Rose to sit beside her.

"I've never seen you like _this _before. Okay...start from the beginning. What happened?"

_"I have to admit. I feel kind of guilty for leaving," Rose found herself saying once they started driving. _

_Adrian gives a sly one-sided smile and chuckled, "Don't give it a second thought. I smoothed everything over with Belikov. He practically gave me his blessing."_

_The mention of Dimitri's name made Rose feel worse, not better. She wondered what it was he was trying to tell her. _

_"I doubt that," she muttered. _

_"Just try to relax."_

_"You know when people say that, it's usually an indicator that I shouldn't relax. It's never relaxing to say 'try and relax'," she rambled._

_She guessed it was nerves._

_Adrian cut his eye questioningly at her before quickly turning back to the road but chose to ignore Rose's rambling. _

_"We'll have fun tonight. I already have it all planned out," Adrian tried to reassure her. _

_"You do?" Rose asked surprised. "You were planning on bailing out on Dimitri's party ahead of time? You didn't even know what I looked like. What if I turned out to be hideous?"_

_"Tasha promised me that you weren't."_

_"How long exactly have you known Tasha and Dimitri?"_

_"Since college," he said curtly. _

_"How vague," Rose laughed._

_"There's really not much to tell."_

_Rose simply nodded and decided to let the subject drop. She couldn't help her curiosity though. She decided she'd ask again later. _

_"So, not to sound worried or anything about where some guy I barely know is taking me in the middle of the night, but where __are __you taking-"_

_"Don't worry. I have it all planned out," he said without looking away from the road. "I wouldn't feel so guilty about Dimitri either. When I talked to him he seemed pretty eager and happy that I was taking the only obstacle in his relationship with Tasha out of the way."_

_That hurt. Rose didn't give it a second thought that it didn't sound like anything Dimitri would say but then she realized she didn't really know Dimitri either. She decided she wouldn't think about him anymore tonight._

_Adrian ended up driving her to one of the nicest restaurants in town. _

_"You realize this is one of those restaurants where they expect you to ask for a hundred dollar lobster without looking at the prices right?" Rose said a little too loudly, earning a few glares from a few patrons and waiters. _

_"This is also one of those restaurants where they expect to be classy," Adrian whispered as they were seated. _

_Rose ignored that insult and sat down as he handed the waiter a twenty. She was starting to get the feeling Adrian was the type of guy to flash his money everywhere he goes._

After all, we did drive here in a Mercedes_, __she thought._

_The waiter started to hand them their menus but Adrian waved a hand, motioning the menus away. _

_"I'll have the steak medium rare, and the lady will have your best salad," he ordered. _

_Rose was so stunned she couldn't seem to make the words come out of her mouth. _

_"Oh and your best wine," he added. _

_"You really didn't have to do that," Rose said biting back whatever harsh comments she would've said under normal circumstances, if anyone else had tried to tell her what to eat. _

_"Don't worry, you'll love it."_

_With a forced smile she tried to make her point again. "I know how to order-"  
"Really, Rose it was nothing. I didn't want you to feel out of place or awkward."_

_"Why would I feel-"_

_"Well, Tasha told me that you and your cousin came from…less than wealthy homes."_

_"I bet she did," Rose muttered. "You want to know what I think? I think you should learn things about me from me and not from…Natasha."_

_"Agreed," Adrian smiled. _

_They rest of the dinner continued with Adrian telling Rose of every second of his successful life from birth to adulthood. He grew up in a wealthy family, an only child, he was his high school's class president, he played football, soccer, was an honor student, and now he own his own investment company._

_Rose spent much of the dinner nodding that she had a crick in her neck. _

_"I apologize if I offended you earlier," he said after they had left the restaurant and were walking back to the car. " You've probably been in hundreds of nice restaurants like this."_

_"Actually the nicest restaurant I've been to is Denny's…unless you count the restaurant where I first met…Tasha," she said begrudgingly. _

_"That must've been awkward."  
"Especially since Dimitri was there," she admitted._

_There was a long drawn out silence until Adrian leaned forward and said, "I have to give you credit for being so brave."  
"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean you had the courage to not only take a job offered by the man who somewhat pushed you aside but also accepted his fiancé's dinner invitation."_

_Rose felt ashamed. _

_Adrian's word choice made it seem as if Tasha was the better woman for accepting her fiancé's affair and his mistress and Rose was the bad guy. _

_"I don't mean to offend you, which it seems I'm doing a lot tonight." He words seemed sincere and Rose accepted them despite his smile and his gleaming eyes. _

_"I just want to make it clear that I slept with Dimitri before I knew he was engaged."_

_"Do you make it a habit of just sleeping with men?"_

_"Excuse me?" She managed to ask in surprise. _

_"Well I doubt you two were that serious seeing as he's engaged so that leaves me to suspect…"_

_"You've been judging me all night," she said finally speaking up. "I made mistakes and I don't need someone like you to remind me." _

_She started to storm off but Adrian reached out and had a firm grip on her arm earning a few looks from passersby._

_"I apologize-"_

_"You've been doing that a lot tonight," she snapped._

_"I know." He sighed. "It's just…I liked you from the minute Tasha told me about you and I really want this work but it bothers me so much that you were Dimitri before."_

_Rose felt guilty. _

_It seemed like all of her problems went back to Dimitri. _

_"I really do like you and I would like to see you again after tonight if I haven't given you a bad impression of me already by screwing things up."_

_She was debating. _

_On one hand, he had insulted her with sly remarks that she'd expect from Natasha a lot tonight. On the other hand, he was great looking, seemed to like her enough to apologize and she wasn't sure she want to pass up an opportunity at finding someone to be with so easily._

Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's wealthy_, she thought smiling to herself. _

_"I can't really be mad at you. It must be your snobby wealthy side that I saw tonight but maybe another date with me will fix that," she said. _

_By then, she was so tired and just wanted to go home and for this night to end that she just about agree to anything. _

_Well, almost anything._

"Did he really do all of those things in high school?" Lissa asked once she'd finished her recap.

"Yes. He was among the overachievers I made fun of in high school."

"Hey, I was an overachiever."

"Exactly and I made fun of you but I wouldn't date you."  
"There're laws that prevent that I'm sure," Lissa joked.

"You're missing the point, L."

"So you aren't really going to go out with him again?"

"I don't know," Rose said uncertainly. She poured herself another glass of orange juice and bit into a muffin. "It's not like it was the most perfect first date."

"True but I thought I had a prefect relationship and look at me and Christian now," Lissa sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with you and Christian."

"Some…_floozy_ is hitting on my man and you think there's nothing wrong?"

"You need to stop watching those old seventies movies cause your word choice is freaking me out."

Lissa laughed without any humor. "I had to indulge myself when I came home last night since Christian wasn't around."

"I didn't think you'd ever resort to…indulging yourself," Rose joked.

"I meant by watching bad movies and eating up all of the ice cream. By the way, we're out," she added sheepishly.

"There's a way to keep your man, L. Eat foods that give you gas," Rose said finishing her juice. "Why didn't you go home with Christian after dropping Mia off or why didn't he stay here?"

"Well, for one thing Mia left with Ivan as soon as dinner was over."

"Not surprising."

"And then when I had enough of Tasha's little pretend to be friendly comments and want to go home, Jill decided she couldn't get enough of Christian at dinner and she asked him to hang out for a little while."

"He didn't actually agree…did he?"  
"No. Being the good gentleman that he is, he tore his gaze away from Jill's chest long enough to agree to take me home."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I wasn't going to spend anymore time with him after watching him drool over Jill all night so he walked me to the door and I closed it in his face and that is why you found me sitting here next to a trashcan full of ice cream containers, eating away my heartache over Christian this morning and not in bed with Christian."

"The last thing I want to see is _you_ in bed with Christian," Rose told her.

Liss gave her a pointed look.

"Maybe you were quick to judge. Christian would never cheat on you. Maybe he was just surprised to see Jill. I mean, I saw his face when Jill came in and if he had been anymore surprised, his eyes would've popped out of their sockets. That's all it was, surprise," she tried reassuring her cousin.

"I don't think so. The only surprise was whatever reaction he had going on in his pants."

Rose was worried. Lissa was generally a conservative person who only resorted to her more liberal, outspoken side when she was upset.

"And since when do _you_ defend Christian?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He loves you, L. Besides, I'm trying to give this whole having faith and not being quick to judge thing a shot."

"Okay, fine. Maybe I was quick to assume but so were _you_ with Adrian," Liss concluded.

"That's different," Rose, answered, the uncertainty clear in her voice.

"You make it sound like he was a wealthy jerk-"  
"Which he was," she interrupted.

"Yeah but first impressions aren't everything. Maybe he just needs a second chance. Maybe he was nervous."

"L, a guy that looks like that and has that much money is never nervous. I bet he wouldn't know what nervous was even if it bit him on the butt."

"I'm just saying, Rose. You're either too quick to hop into bed with someone or you shut yourself off completely."

"I do not!"

Rose felt like her cousin was profiling her. Yes, she had to admit that in the past she was a bed hopper but that was all behind her now.

"Yes you do. You're afraid of getting close. The fact that you tell me anything is a miracle in itself."

Untrue. Rose remembered recently opening herself up to a certain Russian a few nights ago and she'd had her heart broken. Sure she'd been drunk at the time but it still hurt. Lissa didn't know the full details about that though.

"Name one time I've close myself off, _Oprah_."

Lissa was starting to sound like a talk show host dissecting someone's feelings.

"When you first came to live with me, after-"

Rose held a hand up to stop her cousin, her eyes growing wide. She couldn't believe she'd even mention such a dark time in her life.

"I know you only do it to protect yourself but your only hurting yourself by pushing people away when they want to get close to you because you're scared," Lissa tried to make her understand. She stood from her seat on the bar and wrapped an arm around her cousin.

"I want you to be happy too and to have someone."

There was an unspoken 'because I won't be her for you forever' at the end of that sentence. Rose understood. She was going to try and make this work. Maybe Lissa had a point. Maybe she was sabotaging herself because she was scared.

"Does this mean you'll admit I'm right about you and Christian?" Rose asked smugly.

Lissa rolled her eyes dramatically and playfully punched her cousin.

"Yes, you're right about Christian. He does love me I'm just being jealous because his witchy aunt is trying to tear us apart."

"You'll go talk to him then and eventually move in with him, get married, have like three kids you can't control and drink wine to numb the woes of motherhood?"

Lissa laughed and then made a quizzical face. "Only if you agree to go out with Adrian again."

Rose agreed, reluctantly and then something hit her.

"You realize we have Tasha to blame for our suckish night last night, don't you?"

"Yup. Maybe some good is coming out of her by setting you up with Adrian?"

"Doubtful. I've already found faults in him. She's probably getting back at me for Dimitri. The only thing that can come out of Tasha is pure, liquefied evil."

"But you're still going to give him a shot right?" Lissa asked uncertainly.

"Dimitri?"

"No Adrian. Why? Do you still want Dimitri?" Lissa asked quirking a brow.

"You've seen him. Of course I still want him," Rose answered honestly.

"He, along with his witchypoo fiancé, is one of the reasons and/or causes behind our troubles. Promise me you'll keep up your simply professional relationship with him until you decided what you want to do with your life and find a better job."

"You know I don't think you're supposed to actually say the words 'and/or' in a sentence. In fact, no one does that. Or uses the word 'witchypoo'."

"Promise, Rose," Lissa insisted.  
"Okay, okay, I promise. I'll be a good girl."

"That's a scary though," Lissa muttered jokingly. "And you're going to give Adrian another chance," she added reminding Rose.

Rose wavered. "Do I really want Natasha's sloppy seconds?"

"That shouldn't worry you. You've already had Dimitri," Lissa laughed.

"Hahaha."

"So did Adrian try to kiss you when he dropped you off?"

"No. He said he was confident that we'd go again and he'd kiss me then," Rose told her remembering.

"Would you want him to?"

Rose used the only answer that'd been coming to her a lot lately.

"I don't know."


	21. Chapter 21: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

Dimitri couldn't believe it.

The last time he had the urge to punch someone was so long ago he could barely remember it. He thought that maybe it was in college but the memory was fuzzy.

"Wouldn't you rather stare at something a little bit more pleasant?" Tasha asked from the bathroom in a sultry voice.

Dimitri hadn't realized he was staring off into space, admittedly thinking about Adrian and where he'd taken Rose. When Tasha's Rose broke his concentration, Tasha was standing in front of him in nothing but a silk robe extending her legs in front of him.

"Do you really want to know what I'd rather do?" he asked, finding it easy, for once, to look away as she stood ready and willing.

"I have a few ideas," she said unnoticing Dimitri's stiff mood. She leaned forward, resting her hands on the arms of the chair Dimitri was sitting in, giving him full view of what it was exactly she was offering.

"That's exactly what I want to talk about." He stood, forcing her backwards.

She stumbled, fumbling with the front of her robe. "What was tonight about, exactly?"

She huffed with a heavy eye roll. "Haven't we had this conversation already? It was a simple dinner with a few friends. All in good fun," she said simply.

She reached for the front of his shirt. His hands grabbed a hold of her wrist shoving her aside.

"The truth Natasha."

Her eyes, crystal blue like her nephews, brighten in comprehension. "This is about Adrian and Rose."

"It is," he admitted. "I thought we've grown past the games."

"Games?" she asked more out of amusement.

"Your sick version of entertainment involving tormenting people, women especially, that you find threatening."

Dimitri had these thoguths running through his head all throughout dinner as Tasha played hostess with a similar coy smile to Adrian's. He basically tuned out all dinner conversation. He couldn't help watching Tasha not out of attraction but curiosity.

Dimitri liked certainty, no tricks or games but people who were straightforward.

The fact that he couldn't piece together exactly what Tasha had in mind when she matched Rose with Adrian was driving him insane.

He only knew it couldn't be good.

He was glad, though that Ivan shared the same suspicions.

"_Finally manage to untangle yourself from Mia?" Dimitri asked as dinner ended. _

_Ivan grinned. "She went to tell Lissa I'm taking her home," he whispered. _

"_In other words, she went to tell Lissa you two are leaving early to have sex," Dimitri revised. _

"_Phrase it any way you want," Ivan shrugged. "I saw you talking to Ivashkov."_

"_I was curious as to why exactly Tasha invited him here."_

_Ivan made an eager gesture as if he'd been waiting for that question to be answered all night. "And? What'd the arrogant bastard have to say?"_

"_He wasn't exactly forthcoming with information," Dimitri said like it was supposed to be obvious. He gulped a bit more of the drink he'd been holding. He had made an earlier promise to be on his best behavior but that went out the window the moment Adrian arrived and Dimitri was polishing off half of his Vodka bottle. _

"_Well, maybe it's the obvious," Ivan figured. "Maybe this is college all over again and this is Tasha-"_

"_Getting back at me for sleeping with Rose despite our initial arrangement. Yes I figured that much out myself," Dimitri muttered a little irritated. "There's more to this though. I don't what it is but there's something I'm missing."_

_The two men listened as Mia walked back into the room. It was kind of hard to ignore the pop of her heels against the hardwood floors. _

"_Whatever it is," Ivan drooled. "It can wait 'til Monday."_

_Dimitri didn't say anything and eve if he had it wouldn't have matter because Ivan had walked away, leaving with Mia under his arm a moment later with a knowing wink to Dimitri. _

Dimitri wished he had a drink right now and frowned at the empty glass sitting beside his chair where he'd been seated before.

"I don't want hold Rose has over you but it needs to stop.," she said in more of a business voice than the emotional voice she'd used before when making the proposition. She dared to step forward again, clutching his shirt with a firm grip and her voice lowered. "If Adrian is kind enough to keep Rose from ruining what we have, you should be happy. I made these arrangements for us. You agreed we'd give us an actual chance "

Dimitri opened his mouth ready to tell her he didn't know why he agreed to such an idea in the first place and then he had an idea. If he went along with whatever game Tasha was playing he'd know what she was up to.

Keep your friend close…keep your enemies closer.

"You're right."

She seemed to be fighting an arrogant victory smile.

"I knew you'd see things my way."

She took this opportunity to show him exactly what it was she was offering before, opening her silk robe.

"I'd say we had a successful dinner party tonight. Now I'm in the mood to celebrate our success."

She laid herself slowly on the bed, waiting for Dimitri to join her.

Dimitri wanted to point out that she was often in the mood to 'celebrate'. He decided to just play along though, swallowing his words, with full intentions of finishing whatever game Natasha had started.

* * *

_**A/N: I hate author's notes but I had to apologize for the short chapters and long time between UD but at least it's something right?! XD Thanks for all of the amazing reviews and I wanted to let those of you still reading my story that it is much appreciated. Seeing those reviews when i come home from school gives me a good feeling. **_


	22. Chapter 22: Rose

_**Rose**_

"You know, when I said you had to come to work early I didn't mean before me?"

Dimitri joked opening the door to his office the following Monday.

Rose had been so lost in thought, sitting at Dimitri's office door waiting for work to start. She admitted before that she actually liked working now but today was different. She realized that was a bit of a general statement but it was the truth.

She couldn't stop thinking about whether or not she should go out with Adrian again. Another thought that consistently ran through her mind was what it was exactly that Dimitri had wanted to tell her before she left on Saturday.

If this had been a few weeks before, Rose wouldn't have given either worry a second thought and simply would've outright asked Dimitri what he wanted to tell her. Things were complicated now. She was worried he might think she was reading too much into everything he said to her.

Rose seemed to be worried about a lot of things when it came to Dimitri lately.

She realized, before she left early this morning, that she triple checked her outfit hoping it might get his attention or at least a compliment. Nothing overtly flirty or inappropriate but a nice sweater blouse, a knee length skirt and flats. She arranged her hair a variety of ways until she realized what she was doing and just decided to leave the house as soon as possible.

She couldn't stop thinking, though, about what Lissa said about protecting herself, how she never lets anyone in, Adrian, and, the most prominent thought, what Dimitri would think if she went out with Adrian again.

And, conveniently enough, Dimitri appeared.

All morning she couldn't seem to stop remembering or having flashes of the few nights she'd spent with Dimitri. She suddenly felt weird, seeing him fully clothed standing behind his desk…

Instead of undressed and on top of me…

She regretted the thought immediately.

_He's engaged, I'm on good behavior, he's engaged, I'm on good behavior, _she chanted setting her purse down inside the office.

"Rose?"

She looked up, realizing he'd been talking to her. She suddenly wondered how different a date with Dimitri might be compared with her disastrous first date.

_All of my dates were better than that one, even that guy with the webbed feet, _she recalled.

"I was asking if you were alright?"

She couldn't seem to speak, staring at him only brought up all of her earlier questions so she settled for nodding.

"Rose, I'm a doctor, I'm supposed to be able to tell when something's wrong," he smirked, his accent suddenly appearing. That had been one of the first things Rose had been attracted to.

"I'm fine, really. Just…tired," she lied.

She started to fumble with the papers on Dimitri's desk.

"You wouldn't be if you didn't come here so early, and stayed home," he advised.

"Well, I take pride in my work," she said, her move improving a little with the good mood Dimitri seemed to be in.

He looked up from the papers he was shuffling on his desk and gave her a lopsided smile that melted her heart and for a moment, she forgot about Adrian.

However Dimitri, seeming to have suddenly remembered Adrian, let his smile fade and reminded Rose of her dilemma.

"So…your date with Adrian…"

The moment was awkward. It seemed like they both knew nothing good could come out of this conversation.

"It was…different."

That was the only appropriate word to describe it without going into detail.

"I'm kind of glad you brought it up," she said without looking up. She figured now was a good time to figure out what to do despite herself promises to keep everything business but any promise such as that could never really exist since the moment she had slept with him.

"What was it you were going to tell me before we left on Saturday?"

She couldn't help but think of all kinds of scenarios and guess as to what Dimitri had wanted to tell her. It's how she spent most of her Sunday.

The scenario that she kept imagining involved Dimitri grabbing her off to the side telling her she couldn't go out with Adrian because she was meant to be with Dimitri.

That seemed unlikely, especially with the irritated expression falling over Dimitri's face.

"Nothing. Nothing important."

"Are you sure because-"

"Rose, it was nothing. Forget it."

"Fine I just brought it up because you did," she said sounding a little annoyed herself. She didn't like that the mood between them shifts so suddenly and was trying to think how it had gotten to this point all of a sudden.

She wished they could go back to be lighthearted.

"I was just wondering how you felt about this." She couldn't help but push. It was in her personality.

"About what?" he asked sounding a little irritated.

"Me dating someone you clearly don't like."

"You don't need my permission to date him," he said smirking, amused.

Rose was growing flustered. "I know that but I kind of got the vibe that-"

He held up a hand to stop her and sighed. "Rose, I only want to have to say this once. We're _hopefully_ two adults that had a past together that we can _hopefully_ forget. What and who you do in your spare time is your business and the same applies to me."

He looked at her with his dark brown eyes waiting for her to agree. She nodded wanting nothing more than to slap him for his sudden mood swings.

"Fine. Whatever just forget I said anything." She was hurt. Dimitri seemed to want nothing more than to forget the few times spent with Rose and she seemed to have a hard time forgetting.


	23. Chapter 23: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

Dimitri had been in a good mood.

It had nothing to do with his previous night with Natasha. In fact being with her the last few times held less and less emotion for him. Each of the times meant less to him.

He was almost certain he'd slept with her with the idea that his worries and whatever emotions he felt when he thought of Rose would disappear if he focused on the woman he was supposed to marry.

He tried to remind himself, while on his way to work, that sex was meaningless to him. It was an act of pleasure but the closer he was to seeing Rose again the more he felt…excited?

He tried distracting himself with the prospect of going home to sleep with Tasha as many times as it took to get rid of his feelings but every thought went back to Rose.

He was hesitant to admit it had something to do with his worrying over how her date with Adrian went but his emotions were telling him otherwise.

He walked into the clinic surprised to find Rose sitting in front of his office staring off into space.

He couldn't help thinking that her beauty took his breath away. Even as a doctor he was sure his heart skipped a few beats. He couldn't deny that Rose was beautiful in a natural way.

Her skin had a nice tanned, olive tone; her hair was pulled back at the side falling in long waves down her shoulders. The nice blouse and skirt she was wearing shaped her hourglass figure. Rose was a girl that couldn't be described without the word shapely coming to mind.

From where he stood he could see the shape of her chest, slowly rising and falling, sheathed by her blouse and her forced himself to look away, remembering what had happened the first time he'd noticed Rose's full figure.

"You know, when I said you had to come to work early I didn't mean before me."

He joked opening the door to his office. He walked past knowing if he let his gaze linger any longer those feelings of his would stirrup again.

They walked into the office, Rose setting her purse down, without responding. She seemed to be focusing on something staring off into space.

"Are you okay?" She still didn't respond. He was worried now. He didn't think his joke was that bad.

_Maybe something happened with Adrian, _he couldn't help thinking. He quickly pushed the thoughts away, deciding the best thing to do was try and forget that she went out with Adrian.

"Rose?" he tried again.

She looked up, realizing he'd been talking to her, her round eyes wide, slowly appraising him.

"I was asking if you were alright?" he told her worriedly and kind of amused.

She nodded, not saying anything. He watched her waiting for actual words to come out.

"Rose, I'm a doctor, I'm supposed to be able to tell when something's wrong," he couldn't help smirking. She looked nervous.

"I'm fine, really. Just…tired," she replied aloud at last. He was lying. He wasn't sure how he could tell but he knew it wasn't the truth.

She started to fumble with the papers on his desk.

"You wouldn't be if you didn't come here so early, and stayed home," he advised fighting the urge to chuckle.

"Well, I take pride in my work," she returned. She seemed to be warming a little, the mood lightening up.

He looked up from the papers he was shuffling on his desk and gave her a smile he was sure affected her the same way the sight of her affect him when he came in this morning.

And suddenly he was remembering that any smile he gave her had to be similar to whatever charming smile Adrian had given her. He couldn't help bringing it up despite his earlier resolve.

"So…your date with Adrian…"

The moment was awkward. It seemed like they both knew nothing good could come out of this conversation. She seemed to stiffen a bit before speaking.

"It was…different," she said almost reluctantly and uncertain.

Dimitri was intrigued. He'd expected Rose to be head over heels for some reasons. Rose didn't come off as the type to immediately fall for a guy but after her revelation the last time they'd slept together and the fact that she went out with Adrian at all, he had to admit he didn't really know Rose.

He waited for her to elaborate without looking up from the papers in his hand.

"I'm kind of glad you brought it up," she said without looking up either. He wondered where this was going and was sort of thrown off by what she said next. "What was it you were going to tell me before we left on Saturday?"

He'd almost completely forgotten about his attempts to warn about Adrian and Natasha's hand in the situation. Again, he found himself thrown off guard by Rose. No one else had ever had such an affect on him.

He was finding it really annoying. He'd grown up with the realization that he had to be prepared with all of the surprise life hurled at him and Rose seemed more than capable of getting beneath Dimitri's skin catching him off guard.

"Nothing," he said, hearing the irritation in his own voice. "Nothing important," he amended.

"Are you sure because-"

"Rose, it was nothing. Forget it," he said a little more curtly.

"Fine I just brought it up because you did," she said sounding a little annoyed herself.

The mood shift was clear in the air between them in the small office.

"I was just wondering how you felt about this," she pushed.

It had been attractive before, Rose's assertive, I-don't-give-up-easy attitude. Dimitri was finding it an inconvenience now. He couldn't tell Rose about his wanting to warn her before about going out with Adrian. He couldn't let any more of these emotions come into play. He decided to keep it to himself. What did it matter if Rose went out with Adrian and more importantly why did it bother Dimitri so much?

"About what?" he asked a little annoyed.

"Me dating someone you clearly don't like."

His dislike had been that obvious and the fact that Rose herself thought it bothered Dimitri pushed him to say his next words.

"You don't need my permission to date him," he said smirking, amused.

He knew his words had affected her.

"I know that but I kind of got the vibe that-"

He held up a hand to stop her and sighed. He had to put an end to this.

"Rose, I only want to have to say this once. We're _hopefully_ two adults that had a past together that we can _hopefully_ forget. What and who you do in your spare time is your business and the same applies to me."

It was the second time he'd basically implied and referenced to her age as an insult, and had pushed her away. He was hoping his words would hurt her enough to keep her away from good.

Dimitri realized that with this wish he was exactly the guy he'd aimed to be: Heartless and pushing everyone away because it was easier for him. He was ruining a nice relationship he had working with Rose, and he knew it, but the words were already out and he couldn't seem to stop himself or take them back.

He looked at her waiting for her to agree. She nodded her expression shifting form surprise and utter shock to slight hurt that faded into resolution.

"Fine. Whatever just forget I said anything." The hurt was clear in her voice.

Dimitri wanted nothing more than to forget all of this and go back to the light and comfortable relationship that had worked for them less than a day before.

It was a poor way to start off a day he had been somewhat looking forward to and Dimitri couldn't say the rest of the day was any better.

They met with the different patients, going in and out of each of the examining rooms in silence. It wasn't until lunch did Rose speak again.

They had an unspoken pattern of having lunch with one another the entire week Rose had been working at the clinic. Dimitri started to wonder if they would still share one of their silent lunches after everything he'd said before.

He had to admit he looked forward to their lunches because it was the one time of day he wasn't working or he wasn't with Tasha, a feeling he figured he'd have to get over once they were married, and he wasn't off sleeping with someone before having to come back to work.

He was able to sit and enjoy and actual to talk to someone else who listened to whatever it was he had to say. It wasn't like they talked about anything personal or talked about their feelings but they kept it simple, an unspoken rule in the office.

He realized he was wrong before in thinking he didn't really know anything about Rose. He didn't know her life story or personal secrets or favorite foods but he knew she was a listener and, reluctantly, had to admit he enjoyed having someone to talk to.

He was starting to dread lunch; figuring Rose wouldn't want to eat with him after this morning and it bothered him that she had this affect on him, that a small moment out of the day suddenly revolved around the girl who seemed to be causing him nothing but trouble.

It was during the last patient check before lunch, when Dimitri ultimately decided he'd work through lunch to show Rose hadn't had the slightest affect on his day. He was jotting down the last few details of the patient's ailments when Rose accidentally pumped into him carrying multiple boxes of condoms.

They fell to the floor in a pool around their feet. Both bent to pick them up, Rose sighing and pushing a few loose strands of her hair out of her face.

"Planning on using all of these tonight?" The quip left his mouth before he could stop it.

It took him a moment to dare and look up to see the reaction on her face. He handed a handful of the condoms back to her.

She snatched them up glaring at him briefly, a glare so cold and shocked by his remark that for a moment Dimitri felt a chill run through his body. The glare from her eyes passed and she looked away from him before looking up again smirking.

"Yup, Adrian and I are planning on using a whole box's worth by tomorrow.

Dimitri knew she'd be quick with an equally witty comeback.

"Glad to hear you two getting along so well." Again, speaking without thinking.

He wish he hadn't of said anything, that he could take it back but as he often found himself doing whenever Rose was around he could think straight and soon regretted whatever mistake he'd made that seemed to hurt her.

This was all new to him. He'd learned a long time ago to keep himself cold and distant when it came to women. What was different about this one?

For that question, he didn't seem to have an answer.

He found himself taking in all of Rose's beauty again. The silky hair, the curvy full lips, her eyes that seem to stare so deeply into him that it sent chills running down his spine. It was an unsettling new feeling that was starting to scare him.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about Adrian," Rose interrupted his staring. She was standing with her back to him replacing the condoms in the box.

Dimitri felt like sighing. It seemed his words were getting him more trouble and less action lately. He decided it was time to just stop playing the games, the same promise he'd made to himself nearly a week before.

Before he could figure out what to say next, though, Rose continued.

"I mean, why do you keep doing this to me?" She sounded as if she were speaking more to herself now and that it was more of a pained exclamation than a question. Her voice cracked and he would guess that she was on the verge of tears if he was able to look at her.

She slammed the lids of the box shut and shoved it aside. Her long arms leaned forward on the counter for support as she tried to control her breathing.

"What exactly am I doing to you?"

She didn't turn to face him. "Hurting me," she answered quickly.

He waited for her to elaborate.

"You keep giving me the impression that you're not as bad of a guy as Liss keeps trying to convince me you are and that maybe you might like me too despite that evil witch of a fiancé of yours…" She had turned to face him now, arms crossed over her chest. "But you keep disappointing me."

Dimitri had been right about the tears thing. Her eyes were watery, glassy even but no tears fell down her tanned cheeks.

She laughed without any humor in her voice.

"I sound crazy don't I?" she whispered to herself. "I spent all of yesterday and this morning debating on whether or not to give Adrian another chance because I was worried what you'd think or that I was hurting you in some way. I keep expecting more from you than I deserve. It's not like I made the best impression by sleeping with you without any strings attached or that we were ever really dating."

He watched her shove her hands through her hair laughing again without any humor refusing to meet his gaze.

"I feel like such an idiot now."

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, to stop the guilty, aching, wanting feeling building inside of him but nothing came out.

She waited without looking at him and nodded as if expecting him not to answer, grateful that he didn't.

She brushed passed Dimitri.

There was the fleeting idea that he should stop her, grab a hold of her wrist, pull her body to him and just kiss her right there in the middle of the office, soothing every worry and complaint she'd just given in her tirade.

But fleeting thoughts are short lived and just as quickly as the idea, and Rose herself, had come to Dimitri both seemed to disappear.


	24. Chapter 24: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose didn't hate feeling weak.

She detested it.

Rose had always considered herself a person with tough skin, able to handle any and everything. She'd had enough experiences in her life to learn that it was never good to be weak and strength was her ally, especially when it came to the people around her, men especially.

She thought back to her epiphany filled solo walk home the night after the last time she and Dimitri slept together. She'd made a promise to be stronger. Rose suddenly remembered she wasn't good at keeping promises. Even when she tried to promise Lissa something as simple as doing the dishes on the nights she worked Rose failed to comply.

Thinking of Liss brought up their conversation from two mornings ago.

"…_Promise me you'll keep up your simply professional relationship with him until you decided what you want to do with your life and find a better job."_

_"Promise, Rose," Lissa insisted.  
"Okay, okay, I promise. I'll be a good girl."_

_That lasted all of about two seconds, _she thought sniffling.

The day hadn't even started yet and he already agitated her and after the big show she'd made of how much he was hurting her she was feeling even worse. She wished a trash truck would plow right into her, running her over.

_I don't have that kind of luck. _

Which is why she found herself sitting outside of the clinic on a bus bench actually crying and sniffling.

_Like the pathetic idiot I am._

They were too far out of town for her to drive and get something to eat before having to return back to work, not that she was all too thrilled or worried about returning back to work and facing Dimitri again.

She tried to convince herself just to leave and forget about Dimitri and the job and move on with her life. She figured he'd be glad to get rid of the suddenly clingy and insane girl who was meant to be a one-night stand and would happily find a replacement.

But she couldn't quit.

For one thing, she needed the money.

And for another thing she'd made a promise, to Lissa and herself, and despite her failures to keep her promises in the past she swore to keep this one.

She wasn't going to give up. She had to stand up for herself and that's what she did this afternoon.

At least that's what she told herself in trying to get rid of the embarrassed butterflies in her stomach each time she thought back to her outburst.

_Never go after a man who clearly doesn't want you. There have never been truer words._

In all of her sniffling and checking her compact mirror to see how puffy her face had gotten Rose didn't hear Ivan walked up behind her.

She shrieked when she spotted his reflection in the mirror.

An automatic grin spread even wider across his face as he moved to stand in front of her.

"You scared the pee out of me!"

"Well that's unfortunate. You know since you work at a clinic I'm sure we have something to fix that situation, if it happens often, for a low price," he suggested sticking his hands in his pants pockets.

"Ha." She turned back to her mirror checking her reflection. The last thing she needed was another doctor seeing her as a mess. She figured Dimitri would tell Ivan everything anyway so she slid the mirror back into her purse no longer caring.

"Just because I was a little late coming in today doesn't mean you have to bust into tears and loose all control of your bladder," Ivan joked.

"Don't flatter yourself," Rose muttered trying to hold on to the dark mood she was in but Ivan was one of those people that had the unnatural ability to make anyone with a ten mile radius to smile.

Rose found herself fighting the urge to smirk.

She realized she didn't really have any reason to be mad at Ivan despite that he was a close friend with Dimitri. Ivan had always been nice to her or as nice to her as any guy could be when he wasn't looking at her eyes but everywhere else.

"Okay if the tears weren't for me than who for?"

The answer had to be obvious but Rose figured if he was going to play sarcastically dumb she might as well go along with it.

"A patient came in today and reminded me…" she feigned being to overcome with hurt to speak placing a hand over her chest. "And reminded me that the last Twilight movie is coming out this year! No more Team Jacob or Edward! Oh the humanity."

Ivan, who for a moment fell for her ruse, grinned again even wider than before, all pearly whites shining in the sun.

"Yeah that news always gets me too," he chuckled hands in pockets. "I've always been a Team Edward fan."

"Really?" Rose asked generally interested.

"Oh yeah. People don't give him enough credit," he answered sounding generally honest.

Rose made a face showing how weird she thought this conversation was becoming.

"As a grown man perhaps you've given this topic too much thought," she laughed her face feeling stretch from the dry tears on her cheeks.

"I'm not the weirdo sitting on a bus bunch crying," he threw back.

"No, you're just the weirdo standing in front of me sitting on a bus bench."

He made a disgusted face. "I feel myself getting crabs just looking at that bus bench let alone sitting on it."

"I'm sure whatever crabs your feeling are from a previous encounter," she muttered interrupting.

"But bravery points to you for sitting there," he nodded smiling.

"You work at a clinic," Rose pointed out.

"Making me more aware of all of the possible diseases in the world. Sure, I'm a doctor working in a clinic but I still have the high class expectations of a doctor that should be running his own plastic surgery clinic."

"Then why do you work here?"  
"As a favor to Dimitri," he said as if it should've been obvious.

Rose felt her eyes make a full 360-degree roll. Ivan chuckled noticing her expression.

"Ah, so the tears _are _for Dimitri," he acknowledged.

"I never said they were," she says crossing her arms over her chest tilting her chin up.

"You didn't have to," he chuckled rubbing his chin. "I've seen the way you look at him."

Rose felt her jaw clench, embarrassment flooding her cheeks. She hoped she was tan enough so that it wouldn't show.

"I heard you had quite the eyes for Mia," she pointed out smiling.

A smug smile spread across his face replacing the casual one. "I did more than stare at her Saturday night…and this morning." He smiled to himself as if playing the memories in his head.

"Is that why you're coming in so late?" Rose asked grinning.

"Of course, what's more important? My career as a clinical doctor or my reputation?"

"How about your reputation as a doctor?"

"I choose my general reputation as a man and it seems I've left Mia with a good impression of myself-"

"Eww," Rose scoffed making a disgusted noise in her throat.

"-But you have a good point," he continued.

"And Dimitri's okay if you come and go as you please."

She waited a moment and then answered her own question. "Of course he is because he's probably squeezing in his own quickies between patient checkups," she muttered.

Ivan's smiled one-sided. "Well now that you brought Dimitri up again-"

"I didn't," Rose lied.

"Yes you did."

"Whatever."

"Weirdo."

"You're still the weirdo standing awkwardly in front of me," she countered.

"How I'm I awkwardly-"

"I have a nice view of your…" she gestured in front of her, a little below his waist and he chuckled.

"Should I stand back a few feet so that you could see it all of me?" he joked.

"Don't flatter yourself," she repeated her earlier statement.

"You're diverting away from the subject of Dimitri."

"Well I don't want to talk about him," she clarified. "But it seems _you_ do. Do you want to talk about your feelings for Dimitri?"

"Maybe one day when I'm drunk I'll tell you of a few of our experimental college nights but this isn't the time. As his best and personal friend I have the right to pry, interrogate past and potential girls from his past, and put my nose where it doesn't belong so I'm not leaving until we talk about _your_ feelings for Dimitri. Not to mention I'm not up for going into work today," he added.

"No wonder you and Dimitri are friends. You have so much in common. You're both arrogant, selfish, over-ambitious, self-assured, have-everything-and-yet-appreciate-nothing, sex obsessed pig that have mistresses like Mia and myself kept on the side along with all of the other women for your amusement as playthings," she added, huffing at the end.

"I'm glad you don't want to talk about it," he muttered staring down at her questioningly. "You used the word 'mistresses'. Do you view yourself as a mistress?"

"No, Dr. Phil, I don't. It was just my word choice," she mumbled.

"Interesting word choice."

"Do you have a degree in psychology?" Rose asked becoming more irritated.

"No," Ivan answered confused not knowing where she was going with this.

"Then stop analyzing me!"

He sighed his smile not once fading. "Look, I'll keep this short and simple. To be completely frank, you don't know anything about him or me for that matter to judge us. There are reasons Dimitri is the way he is. He comes across as distant and what he needs is someone to be real and honest for him, without the games." Rose was stunned by Ivan's standing up for his friend. "Despite my love of games," he added humorously.

Rose felt a little guilty.

He was right. Just this morning she'd acknowledged that she really didn't know Dimitri from Adam.

"You're right," she said aloud. "But it doesn't give him the right to treat people the way he does."

"You don't like it, stay away from him."

"I can't," she said too quickly.

"Why?" he asked as his smile stretched, eyebrows raised.

"Because I like him!"

She felt silly for making such a proclamation out loud and in public but it was out in the open now. She imagined that Dimitri would've been standing behind her, listening in on her and Ivan's conversation. At Rose's announcement he'd step out of the shadows, take a hold of her lifting her up from the bus bench and plant a long passionate kiss on her lips. The background music would play and everything would fall into place after that.

Rose had to admit she was being a bit unrealistic.

And a little overdramatic.

Ivan was watching her from his height grinning, probably guessing what she was thinking.

She scoffed pushing her hair back.

Ivan was right. She barely knew Dimitri and most of their encounters either involved something physically or playing games.

Rose was sick of games. She'd had enough games to last her a lifetime. She knew she didn't deserve that and neither did Dimitri. If this what happened when she simply tried talking to him, she couldn't image what would happen if they were ever a couple.

_The best thing to do would be to take Ivan's advice_, she decided.

"You're right," she said aloud. "I have to stay away from him."

For once Ivan's smile fell. "That's not the point I was trying to-"

"But it is the point. I don't deserve to be treated this way and Dimitri deserves…the woman he already has in his life. I deserve better…or as close to better as I can get."

It seemed to Ivan that Rose had undergone an epiphany and made a decision.

"Thanks, Ivan."

He opened his mouth ready to speak, similar to how Dimitri had after he little tirade but for once he was speechless.

She stood, surprisingly leaned up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek in gratitude and walked a little ways away from the clinic, for once in a long time, leaving a man stunned.

Sure she finally had a man's complete attention, staring after her, left in shocked.

_Just not the man's attention I wanted. _

She shook the thought away, pulling her cell phone out of her purse dialing.

"Hey, Adrian. It's me," she greeted once he'd picked up.

"This is a surprise," he said not sounding generally stunned. It seemed her usual affect on men was wearing off.

"I know. I was wondering…" she started, hesitating, Lissa's word racing through her head.

_"I don't want you to get hurt…you should find a real guy…someone you can have a relationship with that can love you back…"_

Her cousin had been right, as she always was and Ivan's implication had been right. Rose didn't believe in optimism too often or put much stock in faith but she did know one thing for sure: she had to let go, she had to move on, no more stalling or hoping because…she and Dimitri weren't meant for each other.

Without another moments hesitation she spoke into the phone again.

"I was wondering if you wanted to get together soon."


	25. Chapter 25: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"Do you remember how I said whatever's going on with Tasha and Adrian and Rose can wait until Monday?" Ivan asked perching himself on Dimitri's desk.

"Yes," Dimitri said interested as to where this was going.

"Well, it's Monday and I may have made whatever problems that are going on worse," he said smiling.

Dimitri shook his head walking out of the office, Ivan beside him. "That can't be true because I screwed things up earlier this morning."

"I know. I saw Rose outside crying and-"

"She was crying?" Dimitri slowed walking but didn't look up from the patient's chart he had in his hands.

"Yeah but she was trying to pass it off as allergies or something but anyway I tried talking to her, reason her into straying from Adrian and into your open arms-"

"Since when do you play matchmaker?" Dimitri laughed.

"Since I had a pretty good weekend and I want to pass on the love to everyone else around me."

"So you spent the weekend with Mia?"

It was nice to hear about someone else life for a while.

"A weekend to remember," Ivan said staring off, grinning like a fool. "There was this one position-"

Dimitri held up a hand to stop him. "Not in the mood today. In fact, those are images I can go my entire life without having in my head."

Ivan held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Alright, our friendship has boundaries. I'll just send it in a very detailed email. Or better yet there's the video-"

"Ivan," Dimitri said warningly.

"Okay, okay, anyway, I may have overestimated Rose's attraction to you and come on a bit strong because next thing I knew she decided you two were better off apart and she went to call Adrian."

Dimitri had stopped walking then and turned to face his friend. For a brief moment he had that urge to punch someone again but just as quickly as the urge had come, it passed. _He _had been the one to lay down boundaries when it came to Rose; he'd pushed her away on more than one occasion. What right did he have to be angry with her for moving? It was precisely what he suggested she do.

He told himself not to care; that this was one girl only seemed to bring trouble and mayhem whenever she appeared. Where there was one girl there were more than hundreds of others waiting.

He told himself not to care, not to give it a second thought, but he found that was easier said than done, that he couldn't helped those damned feelings that wouldn't seem to go away, feelings that had once been so easy to ignore.

"It's not like Rose and I are together. As I keep telling everyone, it was a one time thing-"

"I thought you slept with her three times?"

"Whatever. It was a onetime thing that's being blown out of proportion," he clarified moving toward the examining room again. "Why do you care os much anyway?"

Ivan faked appall.

"I'm hurt. This is the second time today I've had to explain my position as best friend forever."

Dimitri quirked a brow waiting for his friend to get serious. Ivan laughed explaining, "Look, I like Rose. I've seen you two do the loo-at-each-other-and-then-look-away-when-the-other-is-looking thing, you have lunch together everday, lunches where I've actually seen a smile spread across the beautiful Russian face of yours. As a matter of fact I think this is the first time where I've actually seen you eat lunch instead of "going out for desert"," he concluded coyly. "You two have something...or you could if you give it a shot."

Dimitri looked at his friend as if he couldn't believe such words were coming out of Ivan's mouth, the Ivan who had live vicariously through Dimitri and had been the one to push Dimitri to live his life without emotions. It was the best and easy to go about life, they'd decided.

He wondered what exactky Ivan's weeked with Mia did to change his friend so much.

He sighed, reluctant to admit there was truth inhis friend's words but then he figured Rose had the right idea. If Dimitri believed in fate, he figured the fates didn't think they'd be good together. It was best to move on, forget about the little moments that had meant the most to him this past week and a half, and let life take its course.

He shurgged, at last, responding to suddenly very serious friend's statement.

"Rose is my employee, I'm her boss, we're going to leave it at that because we're not good together, there's nothing more to it than that. It was jsut sex."

"If the reason behind this decision is that you have nothing in common, I should probably tell you that you and Rose share the same stubborn trait," Ivan called.

Dimitri, again, shrugged leaving his friend behind in the hallway.

He wondered if today meant everything else would change, if things would be as easy going as they were before he'd screwed things up. He wondered if Rose would still be working for him. He found himself, despite his efforts to convince himself that it didn't matter and that he didn't care, dreading the thought of not having Rose working beside him throughout the day having nothing to look forward to.

The worst feeling was the idea that something happened between her and Adrian and she ended up finding her own happiness with someone else.


	26. Chapter 26: Rose

_**Rose: February**_

Four weeks, countless amazingly ostentatious dates and a very satisfied Rose that she had kept her promise to move forward in her life.

It wasn't easy, though.

In fact, she didn't feel happiness.

She could only describe the bland, patterned feeling of her life as satisfaction.

It started the day she'd called Adrian to ask him out again. He'd agreed and they had dinner that very night but Rose couldn't help thinking how she really wasn't interested in Adrian.

_"Do I really want to go out with someone who made me feel so bad the first time?"_

_"You said you'd give him a chance," Lissa made a point of remind her over the phone. "You might end up liking him better the second time around," she suggested hopefully._

_"I hope so. If not, I'm giving up on men and I'm switching to the other team," Rose said glumly._

_"Please, Rose control your excitement," Lissa said sarcastically. "If everything you said happened to you today is true then I think that should be more incentive to give Adrian the benefit of the doubt."_

_Rose had to admit she had a point but she didn't admit it aloud._

_"The only time I had reason to look forward to this date is when I had to go back to work and spend the day beside Dimitri," she told her cousin._

_"Awkward," Lissa said in a singsong voice._

_"Definitely. Not to mention Adrian suggested we were going out for steaks so that was a plus to look forward to," Rose shrugged._

_"Always base your opinion of a man on how much he spends on your dinner," Lissa laughed dryly._

_"What else is there?"_

_"Rose, he obviously is interested in you or I don't think he would've bothered to agree to go out with you again."_

_"Maybe," she sighed leaning her head back on the headrest of her seat._

_"Shouldn't you have come home to change or something? I didn't see you when you left this morning, what are you wearing?" Lissa asked inquisitively._

_"Two coconuts and a g-string," Rose said jokingly._

_In serious tone Lissa said, "Rose…really. A guy likes it when it seems like your dressing up for him."_

_"I'm not trying to come off as easy. Besides, he has to impress me since he screwed up the first time," she reminded Lissa. "Anyways, what I have on is fine."_

_"Well I guess he should like you more for your winning personality, charming smile and curvaceous body anyway. What you wear shouldn't be that important?"_

_Rose laughed disbelieving. "Is that so? What are you doing right now?"_

_In a slightly bashful voice Lissa answered, "Getting dressed up for my date with Christian."_

_"Why not go in sweats a t-shirt," she asked teasingly. "I thought what you wore didn't matter?"_

_"Ha, ha, ha."_

_Rose's laugh faded a moment later, remembering her date that seemed to be coming closer and closer. She'd thought about it all day, doubting herself, wondering what she was doing was the right thing._

_" I didn't feel like going home and bothering to change anyway," she said looking away from the clock._

_"Well where are you now I thought your date wasn't until seven?"_

_"Sitting in my car moping outside of his office," Rose admitted._

_"There's a way to start a date. On the positive side."_

_"You're really sarcastic tonight, L," she told her not liking that her cousin seemed to take over Rose's usual sarcastic attitude._

_"I'm embodying you," Lissa laughed. "Good luck on your date," she called before hanging up._

_Rose stayed in the car until two minutes before she was supposed to meet Adrian outside of his office. She figured the less amount of time she spent actually waiting for Adrian would make the date feel shorter._

_They'd agreed to meet out front of his office building since he wasn't completely sure when he'd be done with work. Rose had just arrived staring up at the gigantic, black marble building when Adrian walked out in a nice suit, carrying his coat over his shoulder looking down at his smart phone._

_He gave a soft charming smile when he spotted her._

_"I wasn't sure if you were serious or not," he admitted standing in front of her so closely she strained her neck looking up at him._

_"I was…I mean I am. I just have a few expectations," she attempted to tell him. Before she could speak to clarify her expectations he held up a hand to stop her._

_"You expect a better date than the last and it will be," he incorrectly guessed. Before she could tell him that he was wrong he linked their arms and they started briskly walking away toward his car parked on the street, already, Rose feeling overwhelmed and loosing all of her nerve._

Not once, on any of their dates, was she not wondering what it would have been like if Dimitri had treated her the way Adrian had been and then immediately afterward she felt guilty.

Adrian had gone all out, dates in the nicest restaurants, his yatch; She could tell he was trying hard to make up for the disaster that was their initial date.

His attempts ranged from pricey restaurants in parts of the city Rose had never even heard of, beautiful gifts, chocolate, flowers, something she hated because it was reference to her name.

_"These are nice," Lissa complimented one day after a bouquet of roses came_.

_Mia grabbed a hold of the flowers, wearing a disgusted face. "Yeah, if she just won homecoming queen."_

_Mia did Rose a favor tossing the flowers in the trash._

"_Mia!" Lissa had shrieked going for the flowers, pulling them out of the trash and setting them in a vase of water. "I think Adrian's been pretty amazing these past weeks. This was a nice thoughtful gift."_

"_That is a gift you buy for your mistress you're trying to keep quiet on the side or your dying grandmother," Mia said pointing to the flowers. "What Rose needs is a real gift, a personal gift that makes her feel like a woman," Mia said puffing her chest out. _

"_Really? And what kind of gift would that be?" Rose asked amused. _

"_Lingerie or some kind of sex toy."_

"_Isn't it the man's job to make you feel like a woman? Not a toy," Lissa asked folding her arms._

"_It varies depending on who the man is. Like take Ivan for example, he bought me a new pair of fluffy pink handcuff-"_

"_To replace the old ones?" Rose asked as she and Lissa laughed. "Did they get too rusty?_

"_No, there was an incident involving me being unable to unlock them from the last two men that had them on because the lubricant wasn't suppose to be put-"_

_Lissa and Rose both held up their hands to stop her. "Okay! That's enough."_

_Mia shrugged unfazed by their unwillingness to hear the rest of the story._

"_Either way though, Ivan's gift had meaning because he knew who much the last ones meant to me and they're fun for the both of us. It's a better gift than some flowers!"_

"_Flowers are a sign of how much Rose means to Adrian," Lissa tried to argue. Mia was already shaking her head. _

"_Cliché and corny."_

"_Coming from the girl who accepts handcuffs as a meaningful gift," Lissa scoffed. _

"_What's the last gift Christian bought for you?"_

_Rose felt her breath intake and saw Lissa's brows rise until she slouched into a pout. _

"_It's kind of hard to put much thought into a gift when he's trying to keep both me and Jill happy," Lissa muttered. "But the last gift he bought for me was…flowers," she grumbled. _

_Rose tried to hide her laugh and Mia just outright laughed before sobering._

"_You mean he's still meeting Jill for lunch and all that?" She asked actually concerned for her friend wrapping an arm over her shoulders. _

"'_We're just friends'," she mimicked Christian. "Or my personal favorite, 'If you really love me you'd trust me more.'"_

"_Oh no he didn't!' Mia gasped pulling back to see if she was serious._

_Lissa nodded solemnly. Rose knew that despite the okay weeks she'd been having Lissa's own relationship seemed to be deteriorating. _

"_What'd you say after he said that?" Mia said intrigued, forgetting about the previous topic entirely._

"_I told him I trusted him and that it was Jill I didn't trust."_

"_I hope you also told him to take those flowers, Jill, and his ideas of love and trust and shove them all up his-"_

"_Little graphic," Rose warned cutting her off._

"_Sorry. I get really emotional when it comes to relationships and how men just SUCK!" She shouted before calming down. In a calmer voice she continued, "This is why the only thing I love when it comes to Ivan and me is our nonexclusive sex based relationship."_

"_Be careful, I had one of those and it did not end well," Rose muttered. Mia started to go on as if Rose hadn't spoken but instead gave her a pointed look. "That's because you're you and I'm me," she reasoned as if it made perfect sense."_

_She turned he attention back to Lissa, her arm still around her shoulders. _

"_Do you see the way Christian is treating you? Maybe you wouldn't be feeling so strongly about him now if you'd read into the crappy flowers he'd given you before. Don't you think Rose deserves an amazingly mind-blowing gift that can be fun for the both of them," she said grinning. "A gift Dimitri would probably buy for you," she said to Rose._

"_He probably buys it for Natasha," Lissa mumbled. _

"_No she's the dominating one in the relationship. She provides the toys and the foreplay," Rose said dryly. She'd managed to avoid even looking at Dimitri for the last few weeks. In fact, it was easy, since the next day and all following after Dimitri told Rose she was needed to really make the rounds and that she would be better needed working in his office, filing. She didn't think it was a coincidence that this transfer had anything to do with their argument the day before._

_As easy as it was to avoid Dimitri nowadays, it wasn't as easy to stop thinking about him. She figured her constant thinking of Dimitri before had been quiet because she'd been able to look at him but now the only time she saw him was in the parking lot when they were leaving. _

"_You're probably right," Mia laughed walking away._

_Rose looked at Lissa, staring disgustingly down at the flowers. "Suddenly I look at flowers in a new light," she said tossing the flowers back into the trashcan. _

Each time, before a date with Dimitri, Rose sat in front of the vanity mirror in her bedroom waiting for Adrian to pick her up, she focused on the times when she'd once been excited to date and used whatever elated emotions she'd had then to get through her night with Adrian.

She felt flattered that someone had gone all out for her and Rose couldn't lie to herself though, things had been going pretty well that she even spent a few of her lunches with him, going out her way to meet him, trying to completely forget the equally nice lunches she'd shared with Dimitri. Despite trying to convince herself not to compare and contrast the two very different men she couldn't help remembering that her lunches with Dimitri had been simple, less forced. There were days with Adrian where she just wasn't feeling up for conversation but she felt the need to force it.

He'd practically force it out of her.

_"Is your dinner alright?"_

"_Fine," she'd answer simply._

"_Is it the wine? The appetizer-"_

_Rose wasn't one who liked being asked twenty one questions when she was in a particular mood so to get through the rest of the dinner she did what she found herself doing a lot lately, putting on a smile, which seemed like enough to pass for happiness, satisfying Adrian._

It didn't feel like enough for Rose though. There wasn't any heart in or emotion in any of the moments they shared usually sitting across from one another at a table.

It all felt detached and distant…predictable.

And Rose most often found herself thinking about Dimitri.

To force her thoughts away from Dimitri she tried to think of the positives of her relationship with Adrian.

They'd had at least a few things to talk about.

Adrian would spend a few minutes asking her how her day was and when she'd return the question he'd discuss his business and the conversation would go from there to topics about the weather. The part of their evenings that Rose favored the most where when she'd ask questions about what it was like being wealthy and growing up having almost everything he wanted and Adrian seemed to enjoy it because he'd get to give really long and sometimes funny answers that occasionally made Rose laugh.

_"Most expensive thing you've bought," she asked one night at dinner._

_"This dinner is definitely on the list," he joked gesturing to the seafood and stead dinner in front of them._

_She had laughed savoring each bite. She was used to frozen steaks that took less than one minute to cook. _

"_Well I'll tell you a secret. I wouldn't mind if you too me out fro a dollar burger now and then," she said nibbling on a piece of her meal. _

_He pretended to be surprised._

"_You mean I could've gotten away with McDonald's as our four course meal?"_

_She laughed, "I was going to tell you but you offered four course meals of foods I'd never heard of. Who am I to deprive you of the opportunity of spoiling me?" She smiled._

_He laughed and then grew somber. "Nonsense, impressions mean everything. We'll have the most expensive meals in the world as long as I know I'm leaving you with a good impression of myself."_

_She was surprised by how serious he'd become about the topic but continue on as a joke to mask her astonishment._

"_Well if you feel the need to pleasure me who am I to deny you the opportunity of doing the pleasing."_

_He gave a slight smile and continued eating. She sipped her wine, realizing that any matters of money and making impressions were important to Adrian and joking about it was nonnegotiable._

"_So you never answered," she went on. "The most expensive thing you've bought?"_

"_My private plane," he answered without thinking. _

"_Does it at least come in handy, I mean do you use it often," Rose laughed._

"_Whenever I need to go out of town for work related business or vacation which is never so…no it has yet to come in handy," he chuckled. _

"_Why spend the money on it then?" Rose asks curious. _

"_My standing as a businessman," he answered again without taking a moment to think. _

Impressions,_ Rose thought. _

_She nodded, nothing more needing having been said. _


	27. Chapter 27: Dimitri

_**Dimitri: February**_

In comparison to what seemed like the most difficult and confusing two weeks of his life, the last four weeks had been good for Dimitri.

Things had somewhat gone back to normal.

He went to work early and left late.

He'd go home and have dinner with Tasha where she did most of the talking, which was normal and then they'd retire upstairs to have, what should've been, an intimate evening alone and the process would repeat itself in the morning.

The one factor that hadn't been consistent before was that Dimitri's thoughts focused on one thing, or person actually, and it was Rose.

When he sat across from Tasha at the dinner table, listening to her talk about who knows what, he thought back to some of the few conversations he'd had with Rose, has favorite being during one of their last shared lunches before the dinner party that seemed to ruin everything, simple light conversations where he felt he could talk about anything.

"You bring different food for lunch everyday but you have yet to bring the best foods in the entire world," Rose said exasperatedly.

"_Which would be?"_

"_Macaroni and Cheese of course," she said as if it should've been obvious. "Pizza, brownies…"_

_He shook his head fighting a smile. _

"_Too unhealthy."_

_She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I get it. You're a doctor and it would make you a hypocrite to eat all of the foods you probably tell your patients to stay away from but it's worth it! When's the last time you've had the greasy goodness of a slice of pizza that size of your head?"_

"_You mean the last time I had a death wish? Because that's what a slice of pizza that size of anyone's head will get you: death."_

"_I say if you're going to die, die happy," Rose shrugged smiling one-sided. _

Dimitri had laughed then, outright, something he rarely did. Thinking back on the memory now, he realized how unhappy he was and the fact that Rose's relationship with Adrian seemed to be going smoothly didn't help things.

Part of him was kind of glad he'd asked work to start filing in the office. Seeing her happy and smiling, knowing it was because of a date with Adrian, would've killed him. Dimitri knew it sounded a little over dramatic but he couldn't help it and he couldn't deny it any longer: he had _feelings _for Rose.

He had yet to say it aloud since it sounded weird simply admitting it in his head…and even with these _feelings _there was really noting he could do about them, he'd decided.

From the few times he'd seen Rose, he concluded that she looked okay and things with Adrian must've been going well.

It still bothered him that he, nor Ivan, could exactly remember why he didn't like Adrian but he figured it must not have been important enough since he couldn't remember it.

Despite his earlier resolve that he couldn't do anything about these _feelings _that he, even as a doctor couldn't explain, nothing stopped him on a particular Friday, when for the first time in weeks, he actually had a decent conversation with the girl that seemed to be shaking up his nicely patterned life, whether she knew it or not.

Although he'd spent a good portion of his life believing fate was like fairy tales, it didn't exist, Dimitri was starting to have his doubts.

He didn't think he'd ever get another real chance to talk to Rose about anything other than a file he was looking for or whether or not she could take her lunch break or the few times she'd asked what time it was, small moments Dimitri found himself reveling in and holding on to. Friday had actually been a slow day.

It was raining and since Dimitri's clinic was in a poorer side of the city people didn't make the effort or take the chance of going out on such a day, even to a clinic.

He'd decided to close up early and sent everyone home.

He tried ignoring the fact that his employees seemed surprised by his odd niceness. He knew he was a cold and distant man but it couldn't be that surprising. He often worried that it was obvious that the sudden change in his demeanor was because of a girl, a girl he couldn't seem to get out of his head and then he figured he was being paranoid and that this was a side affect of those damn feelings.

Dimitri was walking to his car looking forward to the fact that Tasha was out of town for who knows what and that he'd have the house to himself except he wasn't sure he really wanted to be alone.

Whenever he was alone it left him too much time to think and when he spent his time thinking he almost always thought o f Rose. He was contemplating all of this when he heard someone cursing loudly over the pounding of the rain against the parking lot asphalt.

He beeped his own car open, dropping his things inside before looking to see who was still here with him.

For the first time in a long time, Dimitri very nearly stopped breathing.

Rose was leaning over the propped up hood of her car using words even Dimitri had never used.

As if in a trance he found himself walking toward her without really knowing what he was going to say or do. He figured a good start would be to offer to help with whatever problem with her car she was having.

The rain muted whatever sound his shoes would've normally made and with his looming six foot seven height he couldn't blame her for shrieking her lungs out when she'd sensed he was standing behind her.

"What the hell!"

He held up his hand as if surrendering. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Sure could've fooled me," she muttered turning back to her car, her hand over her heart. He noticed her gaze linger over him for a moment before she'd completely turned away. He trembled at the sigh of her long thick hair matted to her temples and neck, the front of the white blouse she was wearing exposed the lacy black bra she had on underneath and his immediate thought was whether or not she'd worn such a bra for Adrian or if this was a daily thing. He found himself trying to remember the outfits she'd worn the times they'd slept together but his thoughts were cut short when he found Rose glancing over her shoulder staring at him confused and surprised.

"You are currently giving off stalker like qualities by just standing there," she said turning her attention back on her car. She tugged at something and quickly pulled her hand back after there was a quick shocking noise.

"Crap!"

"What are you doing?" Dimitri asked.

With his doctor instincts Dimitri found himself clutching Rose's hand examining to see if there were any serious burns.

"Dealing with the worlds crappiest Jeep Cherokee!"

"In the rain?" Dimitri asked quirking a brow. "Not your best idea."

"I'd like to go home and in order to do that I need my lovely car to start and of all days he decides not to start toda1"

"He?"  
She shrugged. "I like to think of my car as a guy."

"Why?" he asked bewildered, interested and amused all at once.

"Because I'm inside of him and control everything that's going on which is better than actually men," she explained muttering the last part. "I can control and push and pull what knobs I want to, make him do what I want him to in order to please me."

That sounded like something Ivan would say. Dimitri couldn't help the smile tugging at one side of his lips.

"I guess that makes sense"

"Of course it does but do you want to know what doesn't make sense?" she asked leaning in. He caught the sweet scent of her soap and rain rolling off of her.

"What?"

"Why you're still holding my hand,"

He looked down at where his much larger hands enveloped her own, holding them gently. She pulled her hand away from his so quickly, taking what little warmth they provided with her.

"Sorry," he muttered.  
It was in that moment he started to realize that he and Rose had switched roles. He felt himself wanting to bold expose his emotions to her but in that moment Dimitri found that he wasn't nearly as brave as the girl who seemed put off by him, distant as he had always been, especially with the way she was glaring at him so coldly it sent a chill down his spine.

He wondered when he'd become so weak and spineless and how one girl could do this to him.

_I need to grow some backbone. What happened to the old me? _He wondered.

He figured it was best not to look directly at her and turned his attention to her car.

"So what's the problem?"  
He could see Rose shrug out of the corner of his eye and in a very sarcastic voice say, "Oh I don't know. I was trying to use my x-ray night vision to figure it out."

He ignored her mood and leaned over the car himself.

As a teenager he'd spent a good portion of his time working on cars but now that he had money he relied on other people to fix whatever was wrong when his cars broke down and he'd forgotten how to fix the simple stuff.

What he could see with his eyes, not having to remember or rely on his past experience with broken cars to notice, was that the inside of Rose's car was basically fried.

"I think it's time to retire your car. It looks like he's made his last drive. Permanently," he told her.

Rose huffed pushing her hair out of her face.

"Well I'd love to retire Richard but, unlike you, I don't have a wad a cash lying around to buy a replacement."

"You car's name is Richard?"  
She nodded leaning into the inside of the car as if hoping a simple touch or the right pull might get the car to start. "Do you know what the nickname equivalent is of Richard?" she asked without looking at him.

He thought for a moment before smiling, tucking loose strands of damp hair behind his ears. "Cute," he commented.

He thought he saw her laugh but figured he'd imagined it, unable to be sure with the rain.

There was a long silent moment before she spoke again without looking at him.

"I thought you weren't talking to me."

"I'm talking to you now," he pointed out leaning on the car.

He could practically hear her eyes roll. "Are you Amish?" she asked suddenly.

"What?" he asked genuinely confused. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because you're pretty good at the whole shunning and ignoring thing."

"I asked you for files today," he tried to point out realizing how lame it sounded even to his own ears. She looked over her shoulder smiling.

"And I guess I'll have to hold on to that memory and this one to make through the rest of my life happy."

As it happened so often around Rose, he didn't have a response for that. Truth be told he had been doing his best to avoid her because avoiding her meant avoiding and hopefully getting rid of his feelings but much to his dismay that plan didn't work.

When he didn't say anything Rose simply glance at him again, smiling before turning back to her car.

Finally after a few more moments of pulling and prodding Rose leaned out of the car.

"I guess Ritchie is permanently sickie," she sighed.

Dimitri had always found her way with words interesting, one of her appealing qualities.

"And I feel icky," she muttered looking down at herself.

She looked at him beneath heavy lidded lashes and smiled sweetly, a smile that didn't seem to quite fit her as well as the smirk she so often wore.

Without her needing to say anything he offered, "need a lift?"

"No I just want to stand here," she snorted slamming her hood down and going to the back of the car to get her things.

"This should be an interesting ride," he muttered.

"Hopefully as good as the other _rides _you've given me in the past," he heard her say from inside of the car.

Dimitri shook his head exasperatedly, for the first time in a while not ending the work day thinking way he'd been cursed with emotions, wondering what good could come out of this.


	28. Chapter 28: Rose

_**Rose**_

For the first time in a really long time Rose felt good.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she was sitting inches away from Dimitri, a situation she imagined reading in one of those cheesy adult romance novels.

She felt good; amused was a more accurate description, because Dimitri, the calm, cool, and always-collected doctor couldn't have been tenser as he drove beside her pretending to focus on the road.

She didn't catch him glancing at her since she was staring out the window but she could feel his eyes on her every few moments and all amusement she felt would disappear and she'd feel uncomfortable, like she was being scrutinized.

Rose used to love when guys stared at her. It gave her the feeling that she was beautiful enough to catch their attention and she'd spent a lot of time hoping that one day Dimitri would stare at her like that and that it wouldn't end with them immediately falling into bed together.

It felt different now that it was actually happening.

She wondered why he was acting so weird.

Once she felt him glance at her for what felt like the hundredth time she couldn't take it anymore.

"See something you like?"

The question caught Dimitri off guard enough that he swerved into the next lane.

He coughed. "What?"

"You keep looking over here at me, giving off that creepy stalker guy vibe again." She had to admit; she was having more than a little bit of fun at seeing him uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat again placing both hands on the wheel. "I was checking my side view mirrors," he lied.

Rose laughed outright. "No one checks their side mirrors that often. Besides we're the only car on a two lane highway."

"Better to be safe than sorry."

"In other words you mean using the side view mirrors gives you better view of my see-through shirt," she teased.

She had to resist laughing again when he actually squirmed in his seat. She figured this was her earned karma points in action for being so good at staying away from Dimitri and actually giving Adrian a chance.

Sure, she was in the car with Dimitri now and hadn't really thought about Adrian but these were special circumstances.

Thinking about Adrian and Dimitri and these 'special circumstances' Rose pulled out her cell phone to call Lissa, remembering she'd been expecting her. They were supposed to go out for drinks with Mia to celebrate the fact that she was still with the same guy, Ivan, without cheating on him.

"Crap," she muttered, shaking the water dripping from her phone.

"I think it's time for a new phone," Dimitri said reaching for his own phone in the pocket of his shirt as Rose flipped her phone open and close hoping it would turn on.

"Why do you say that?" she said slapping her phone.

"For one thing, I don't even think they make flip phones anymore," he said sounding amused.

"Well not everyone can afford a fancy touch phone like you, moneybags."

She snatched his phone from his hands trying to turn it on and smiled.

"I think it's time for a new phone for you too." She held it up for him to see, smiling. "Waterlogged."

"Crap," he muttered himself reaching into the console between them. He pulled out a second touch screen phone and handed it to Rose after making sure it turned on.

"You keep two phones!" she shrieked in disbelief. "What are you, a spy?"  
"It's a backup phone in case my actual phone gets wet while I'm trying to help my sarcastic and teasing employee with her broken down car," he said, smiling for what seemed the first time tonight.

She tried not to revel in the beauty of his smile and instead focused on dialing.

"You should try smiling more often. Maybe I wont be as sarcastic and teasing," she said punching in Lissa's number.

"I don't smile," he said as if repulsed by the idea.

"Why?" she asked putting the phone to her ear.

"Then it gives people the idea that I like them."

"I've seen you smile," she laughed as the phone rang on the other end.

"Have not."

"You smiled a few seconds ago."

"No I didn't."

Finally the phone stopped ringing on the other end and went to voice mail. Rose forgot that Lissa didn't answer unknown calls.

She tried again hoping she'd answer.

"No answer?" Dimitri asked from beside her.

"No, we're just talking telepathically," Rose muttered ending the call.

Dimitri gave her a pointed look.

She handed the phone back to him giving him her own look. "Smile more and the sarcasm stops," she promised.

Dimitri gave her a look that said he didn't really believe her.

"I may have pegged you as a coldhearted, distant man who uses women but you're secretly a smile-er," she said pulling her damp hair back into a ponytail.

"When have you seen me smile? Name one time," he requested.

Rose looked at him, the lightheartedness of his tone catching her by surprise. She wasn't used to it and she wasn't sure had the tension had melted so quickly between them after weeks of awkwardness and avoidance.

She thought for a moment.

"You smiled my first day of work."

He had a thoughtful look on his face, thinking back. "When?"

"The girl that came in, with the bruises and scars. I was reassuring her and right before she left you gave her one of your rare, reassuring, sweet, I'm-not-as-big-of-a-jerk-as-I-appear-to-be smiles," Rose described leaning back against her seat looking over at Dimitri.

He smirked to himself remembering, nodding slightly. "I remember."

There was a long moment where they sat thinking back. Rose was thinking of the little girl, remembering how she herself had revealed a bit of her personal life; the scar that sat ran from her arm to her shoulder.

"Do you ever think we'll see her again?"

"I don't know. Part of me hopes not," he answered honestly.

Rose could understand that

"I don't see how parents can hit their kids."

"They think it's a form of discipline."

"That's a lie they tell to make themselves feel better, to make it seem like they're doing nothing wrong."

Dimitri glanced over at her most likely wondering when and why the mood had shifted so quickly. Rose couldn't help it, her short rant. She'd spent most of her life focusing on what was happening in the present and thought little about the past or the future. It hurt to much thinking about so many memories she'd rather forget, except the one's with Liss.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

Rose didn't want to talk about it. The only person she ever brought this up with was Lissa and even then, they didn't really talk about it.

"I just understand, is all," she said simply hoping he'd leave it at that.

There was a brief silence and then Dimitri spoke, barely above a whisper that she wasn't sure she'd heard him.

"Me too."

They shared a brief glance. She was admittedly more than curious as to what Dimitri's life had been like before meeting her, growing up. She found it hard to imagine and think back to her life before now and didn't want to share her own past but she couldn't help being curious about his. As if fate was stopping her from pushing the conversation any further, her stomach growled.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "Haven't eaten since this morning."

"You went out for your lunch break," Dimitri observed.

"To get a manicure," she said holding up her somewhat clear polished nails, a new of them chipped from when she'd been rooting around beneath the hood of her car.

"You went to get a manicure when you can't even afford a new phone?" he asked in disbelief.

"A girl has to treat herself. Besides what do I really need a cell phone for? The only people I really talk to, I'm always around them.

"Maybe you should've thought about eating."

"I would've been more likely to eat if we still had our little lunch dates."

He tensed again and she laughed.

Instead of apologizing or saying anything about the fact that he'd basically been avoiding Rose, he said, "How about something to eat…unless you had plans to eat elsewhere?"

She guessed that was his subtle way of asking if she was going out with Adrian. She knew this was probably a bad idea since it seemed like the more time Dimitri and Rose spent together the more likely they were to eventually get into a fight most likely involving Adrian. This couldn't end well yet Rose didn't want to miss the chance that things were going to be okay with her and Dimitri and the chance to spend more time with him than she had in weeks making up for lost time.

"I guess I can grace you with my presence over a nice dinner," she said nonchalantly as if the matter didn't make any difference to her.

"A nice dinner? I was thinking drive-thru."

"And I was thinking you owe me for being a jerk and you're taking me to the pier for a nice slice of the best pizza in existence and a churro."

Dimitri was silent as if considering.

She looked over at him for the hundredth time that night when he still didn't say anything. She turned back toward the window where the passed a sign that said they were now headed toward the pier.

She smiled slightly, ignoring the warnings in her head and the drop in her stomach when she thought about Adrian and how disappointed Lissa would undoubtedly be, even Mia.

For now, though she decided to put her worries off until later and enjoy the moment.

Leaning her head back against the seat again and smiling to herself she thought, _what could happen? nothing's going to happen. We're two…people with an odd…employee and boss relationship with a confusing friendship going out for a pizza. It's not like anything is going to happen._

Secretly, though, she hoped she was wrong.

* * *

_**A/N: A short, slow filler chapter. Since applications are do tomorrow, I'll be able to Update more often and soon! Also, I promise, there is a plot to this story I'm just moving it along very slowly. Reviews loved and appreciated. XD** _


	29. Chapter 29: Dimitri

**_Dimitri_**

Rose watched Dimitri expectantly.

"Well…" she said anxiously.

He finished the pizza that was in his mouth and smiled.

"Alright, I admit it. This is the best pizza on the planet," he said as Rose threw her hands in the air happily.

"See! I told you," she squealed happily. "It would save a lot of time if everyone would just accept that I am always right and I know everything."

They walked along the pier, beneath the awning out of the rain. Dimitri hadn't predicted that this was how his day was going to end. He'd been planning on going home, having a few glasses of anything strong, and waiting until the next day began but this was better.

"Alright I said it was the best pizza but not the best food."

Rose scoffed, nibbling on her churro. "Okay, I'll play along even though you're wrong. What's the best food in the world?"  
They stopped at the end of the pier away from the rest of the crowd leaning along the railing looking out at the white-capped waves.

Dimitri almost immediately answered that it was this one restaurant he'd been to in college but then he stopped, suddenly thinking of home.

"Nothing is better than my mother's cooking," he said. When Rose didn't respond he turned to find her looking at him smiling. For a moment he was a little embarrassed and confused why he had admitted something so personal, something he'd kept to himself and nearly forgotten about.

"That's so cute," Rose giggled tucking a stray strand of her wet hair behind her ear.

Dimitri looked down at his hands and the half eaten pizza hiding the blood he felt rushing to his cheeks. "Lissa used to cook for me and honestly there was nothing better so okay fine I take it back, you're right, there's nothing better than home cooking,"

Dimitri felt himself smile softly. "You know, it would save a lot of time if you would just accept that I am always right and that I know everything," he joked throwing her words back at her.

"Ha ha," she fake laughed, fighting a smile. "Are you close with her?"

"Lissa? I've only met her twice but she seems-"

"No, I meant your mother," Rose clarified, almost hesitantly, as if she could see she'd embarrassed Dimitri before by bringing up his personal life.

"I used to be." It was an honest answer to a subject Dimitri never talked about and always thought about but tried to forget.

"Used to?" she asked after another moment. It was like she knew this was something he didn't really talk about but she couldn't help but push. He glances at her, her eyes wide and curious.

_It was her directness that I was mostly attracted to, _he remembered thinking back to their first meeting.

"I haven't seen my family in years," he finally answered, staring out into space, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You miss them," Rose acknowledged. "I mean…I assume you miss them. You're from Russia right? Is that where your family is?"

He nodded, remembering his big family scattered over parts of Russia. They hadn't been gathered together in so long Dimitri was used to the feeling that he was alone.

"They live, or they used to live, in a small town called Baia."

He couldn't blame Rose for being curious about his background.

In keeping with his own set of rules keeping things impersonal the subject had never come up. Dimitri had to admit he was a little curious about Rose's background but he'd never bothered to ask and didn't want to ruin the comfortable time they were having by bringing it up.

He assumed she didn't have the best childhood, remembering the scar on her shoulder… _And it would only bring up bad memories but pushing the subject_, he convinced himself.

They stood quiet, watching the ocean and the rain. Rose didn't like the silence that was building and was, of course, the first to break it.

"You know, this pier, older than the city itself, is more brightly lit than that parking lot of yours. I think you need to invest in some outdoor light for the clinic. It's not like it's in the best neighborhood. It's creepy when there's no on around."

"Especially when you're alone in the creepy parking lot hopelessly trying to fix your out of date car," Dimitri chuckled. He leaned off of the railing, taking another bite of his pizza.

"Especially then. My poor car probably didn't start because it was scared engineless in that neighborhood your clinic is stationed in."

"How long exactly did you plan on attempting to work on your car in the dark? You could've just come in and asked me for help?"  
Rose made a surprised faced chewing what was left of her own slice of pizza before choking. "Sorry. I found that hard to swallow."

Dimitri finished his own pizza, tossing the trash in the garbage a few feet away.

"With the cold shoulder you've been giving me the last few weeks I thought you'd have me sedated for even looking at you or committed," she said adjusting her damp shirt.

"I haven't exactly been the friendliest boss-"

"More like the boss from hell. Have you ever seen the _Devil Wears Prada_?"

"No," he said confused at what her point was. She laughed to herself as if to an inside joke.

"You should see it," she giggled. "Good movie, you might find it portrays a few of your more less likeably attributes, and that you can relate to the movie."

Dimitri still didn't get it but he shrugged it off, making a mental note to look into the movie later. He continues with his previous topic.

"I just thought it was better if we stayed away from each other."

"Changing my job position and ignoring me was your brilliant solution?" Rose asked.

"It made it easier for me to be on my best behavior."

She sighed then, tucking her damp hair behind her ears. "I feel like this is a pattern with us. It's like that Katy Perry song 'Hot 'n Cold'. I'm making a lot of pop culture references to night. We fight we break up, we kiss we make up," she finished in a singsong voice.

"I blame you," Dimitri said joking.

Rose looked truly surprised. "Me! What did I do?"

"My life was perfectly fine and normal before you came along, spilling my coffee on me, making me feel all of these…things."

"What things have I made you feel?" she asked her surprise shifting to amusement. "Are you talking about feelings…below the belt or are you talking about that time, at the jungle themed motel when I let you feel my-"

"No, no, no," he said vehemently cutting her off. "I'm talking about…" He couldn't believe it. Right now did not seem like the perfect moment to divulge his feelings. It was raining; they were both wearing damp clothes, their hair blown askew, and there was a homeless man playing a conga drum a few feet away.

Dimitri wished he hadn't been the cause of the mood changing so quickly. He wished he hadn't brought it up at all.

Rose noticed Dimitri's hesitance and uncertainty and, somewhat, changed the subject back to his family.

"Is that why you're such a grump, because you miss your family so much because if it is you're more of an emotional dude than I pegged you for?" She asked trying to lighten the mood.

Dimitri smiled lightly. "It's probably some of the reason," he answered honestly, his accent becoming more pronounced even to his own ears. "America is another reason."

"You mean, you're not in love with our amazing country where you can buy designer anything for a dollar or buy sushi from a van?"

"It's not that," he laughed. "America is so different. It's unfamiliar. You were born here, as far as I know-"

"Montana and proud," she clarified dryly. A funny look came across her face but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"I was born in a completely different country that I'm familiar with, customs and foods I'm used to. I just feel homesick most of the time," he admitted. He had never been able to peg the feeling of being lost and alone before but now that he did it felt good.

There had never been anyone or anything to make him forget or ignore his homesickness until she came along.

"You're a bigger sap than I thought," she said teasingly.  
"If I am it's because of you. You've softened me up."

"I take that as an insult," she said hiding a blush, or trying to, but Dimitri could see the red in her tanned cheeks.

"Why?"

"I usually have the opposite affect on guys. I don't soften them up, I make them har-"

"Rose," he interrupted. She was nervous and uncomfortable, he could tell but he couldn't seem to stop putting her on the spot. He wanted to just be able to tell her, everything, and everything he'd been thinking, experiencing and feeling. He wished it were that easy but even if he did tell her, he had no idea what would happen next and not being prepared for the unexpected was something Dimitri wasn't comfortable with and didn't know how to do.

So he opted to do something that would convey everything blatantly and clearly to her. He touched her shoulder gently, brushing a few strands of her loose hair out of her face. He managed to pull her closer to him, so close that she could feel her chest move from her breathing against his own, in one quick motion. She seemed startled and surprised.

Her lips parted as if to say something, his name was on her lips, he could tell but before she could utter a sound he leaned down and pressed his lips to her.

If anyone asked Dimitri what the hell he was doing, his honest answer would be that he didn't know.

Before the warm and slow kiss went beyond the use of tongues, there was a pat on Dimitri's shoulder forcing him to pull apart from Rose. It was the homeless man that had been playing the conga drum before.

He stood grinning at Dimitri and Rose, all yellowed teeth and body odor.

"You wouldn't happen to have spare change?"

Dimitri felt like lashing out at the man for breaking them apart but instead, dug in his pocket for the loose change in his pockets and handed it to the homeless man sending him away, gratefully, talking to himself.

He turned his attention back to Rose, holding her hand over her lips.

"For a moment I thought he wanted to cut in," she muttered trying to smile. The hand that still covered her mouth as if she could still feel the kiss on her lips smothered her words. Dimitri didn't respond waiting for her reaction or response. He wasn't sure what he expected or what he really wanted.

"Um…" she started simply.

"I shouldn't have done that," he said for her. Actually the long drawn out silence and Rose's nervousness seemed to say it all.

_I shouldn't have kissed her. _

She started to shake her head but then stopped dropping her hand from her mouth. She let out a long breath searching for the right words. Dimitri wished suddenly that this was maybe a few days or weeks before, before Adrian had come in and distracted Rose, when he thought he had more of a chance. Just as quickly though he regretted these thoughts because he was different now, better, than he had been those few weeks ago.

I guess spending all of those weeks thinking about where I am in life will do that to a person.

"Dimitri," she started, pulling him from his reverie. "You're an amazing guy…"

Oh no, I'm getting the 'you're amazing but…' speech.

"Well you're an amazing guy now. Before, you were just a…I'll use a nice word…a jerk and for the life of me I cant figure out why I wanted you so badly. I figured if we couldn't even manage an employee-boss relationship then an actual relationship would be impossible. But maybe this whole thing just wasn't meant to be and I only met you because I was supposed to meet Adrian. I'm not the only one who's benefited from this though. You've changed, you seem better."

So I wasn't the only one who noticed my obvious personality change.

Dimitri felt himself sigh aloud and Rose bit her lip as if nervous of what his reaction would be. Dimitri thought that maybe in the past he would've brushed it off, saying he didn't really care at all and it was a joke or he wouldn't have even dished out his feelings in the first place.

But yes, a month, maybe a bit less, had passed and Dimitri found himself a man with not only emotions he'd been able to avoid and hide so easily before but also with a conscious. Rose had even said he'd changed and he didn't want to disappoint her or himself. He found himself fleetingly wondering what kind of fiancé Tasha was if she couldn't notice the change in him.

_She was right. If I've really changed then I'm going to be a better person._

"I understand," he said stiffly, his voice suddenly deeper than normal, his accent less obvious. Her words hurt, he wouldn't deny that, but it was the truth.

She seemed to relax a little but seemed guilty about hurting Dimitri. He hoped it didn't show too much.

She lifted her hand as if to comfort him but decided against it at the last minute clutching her fist closed.

"Are we still okay or have I ruined our friendship?"

Dimitri found himself smiling despite his darkened mood.

"We're good. I want to be the good guy this time around."

She stared at him curiously, not completely understanding why he wanted to change so much.

"You're already a good guy. I'm going to sound cliché saying this but don't ever change. You're a good…no great now and no one can change that," she said vehemently.

He smiled slightly. "You've already changed me completely," he pointed out to her.

She shrugged seeming to realize that his words were true and proudly nodded.

They both smiled, sharing a brief moment.

Dimitri realized he wasn't the only one that's changed. Rose had evolved a bit too. She seemed to hold a bit more confidence and seemed happy. He chose to not acknowledge that this happiness had something to do with Adrian, he still didn't trust him and still couldn't completely understand why despite knowing it had a bit to do with his relationship with Rose.

Instead he let himself relish in the personal time they were spending together, wishing and hoping that this wasn't the last.

**A/N: This is the start of the drama in the story, even though it may not seem like it. I should also warn that the story gets a little darker as it goes on but I'll be sure to keep it funny in between. I appreciate the many many many reviews. I know this is a website meant for people to express their ideas on how they image/wish for stories to happen and for people to freely express their opinions and views on stories but the negative reviews still kind of hurt. Maybe the couple of negative reviews I've received were meant to be critical and helpful (and they were, kind of) but still…anyways no more rambling. I appreciate the fans and will update sooner since winter break is upon us and finals week means the days are shorter. **


	30. Chapter 30: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose honestly couldn't believe she did it but she was proud she did.

She truly had changed.

She was almost happy about America's poor economy and the fact that homeless men practically littered the beach or else she doesn't know if she'd been able to pull away from the kiss.

The important thing is that she did pull away though.

She wasn't returning his sentiments and even kindly pointed out that she was with Adrian now with the full intentions of staying committed to him.

Lissa would be proud, probably a bit more proud than Rose was in herself. It was a good kiss; there was no denying that. She still felt the tingly goodness and heated electricity of the kiss still on her lips. She couldn't seem to stop touching them, letting the feeling linger but not holding on to it.

From now on she was going to hold on to Adrian completely and fully giving him the chance he deserved.

She was doing the right thing and she was glad.

She was also happy that all of the animosity and lighthearted flirting and arguing from before seemed to disappear completely this time replace with a nice calm.

"Out of curiosity," Dimitri said breaking the comfortable silence in the car. "Earlier tonight you asked if I was from Russia, how did you know?"  
"I used my amazing powers of deduction."

Dimitri took his eyes away from the road long enough to glance at Rose questioningly.

"Your accent."

"Is it that noticeable?"

"It makes you…distinguished," she complimented, not wanting to make things weird by saying what she really thought about his accent: that it was one of his most attractive features.

She looked up from her water logged phone long enough to look at Dimitri. He seemed happily phased by the compliment. Rose hoped that any little gestures she made toward Dimitri weren't going to attract him to her more.

She figured that was too much of a conceded thought and decided Dimitri had more strength than she gave him credit for and that she wished he had. Secretly, she wondered what would've happened if she had returned his feelings.

But Dimitri's words had stuck to her.

She wanted to be a better person too, a good guy.

_Or a good girl actually, _she mentally corrected. _And being a good girl means telling the truth. _

"I'll be honest: I only know you're from Russia because I caught a glance at your personal file kept at the clinic while I was cleaning."

He looked at her appalled but smiling. "You had me going for a moment there. Aren't you supposed to learn about being professional and not reading your boss' files in high school of college?"

_If I had learned about being professional with your boss we wouldn't have so much drama between us,_ she thought amused, smiling to herself.

"I barely graduated as it is and it's not like school was my favorite. The day I graduated, everything I ever learned, which wasn't much or had nothing to do with school, vanished completely from my mind."

"So no college then?"  
"I'm working for you aren't I? All day everyday."  
"I know, I just assumed you went to college or something in your free time."

"And what exactly did you assume I studied or majored in?" she'd amusingly curious.

"Mmm…" Dimitri thought for a moment staring out at the road. "Maybe business or you'd go to one of those fashion institutes. I can see you owning your own clothing line or running your own business at the least."

"So you don't think I've reached my full potential as a clinic secretary?"

"You're a good secretary but I still see you as a designer or the artsy type." He glanced at Rose for confirmation. "Did I guess right? Would you've majored in business or art or something?"  
"I think you should stick to your career as a doctor instead of a guidance counselor," she laughed.

"Was I way off?"

She nodded.

"Okay so what do you like to do?"

She blushed, a little embarrassed. "You'll never guess."

"Then tell me," he chuckled.

"I'm a reader." She looked over at Dimitri to see what his reaction was. She'd never really talked about her hidden hobbies. Yes, she was a reader. Not just major magazines or fashion articles but old-fashioned books, love stories. Books were her escape when life suddenly seemed too hard. She hadn't been able to indulge in her hobbies as of late but she hoped that now that things were improved between her and Dimitri and maybe somewhere far down the line, with Natasha since she would indirectly become apart of Rose and Lissa's family if she and Christian ever married, she'd be able to read more.

"I would've never guessed," he breathed, after a moment, surprised.

"Just goes to show how much you don't really know about me," she said slightly mischievous, joking and serious.

"So why didn't you go to college instead of looking for work?"

"Financial setback," she said simply.

"I had a feeling you didn't want to work with me to simply spend hours gazing at my dazzling looks," he joked. "What do you do in your free time then? I _do_ give you days off, right? I know you've been getting to work after me and leaving before me so I know your eagerness about work isn't keeping you from your free time," he observed pulling onto the main highway.

Rose was a little reluctant to answer but it seemed bringing Adrian into any conversation they had was unavoidable.

"I'm usually trying to catch up on sleep or I'm with Adrian," she answered truthfully.

She peeked at Dimitri through the curtain of her thick hair that fell between them.

She wondered if it was the right move to use the words 'sleep' and 'Adrian' in the same sentence.

Dimitri nodded stiffly, his jaw clenching.

"You don't like him. I know we've established this before but why?"

"Same answer as before," he said quickly. "I don't know."

Rose waited a moment before voicing her thoughts aloud.

"Is it because of me?"

They'd stopped at a traffic light and Dimitri took the time to look over at her. "Mostly."

His voice broke a bit as if it were too hard to be so honest with these feelings of his but she was happy with the new Dimitri and a little sad that he wasn't this way when she'd been with him before. She regretted those thoughts immediately, remembering that anytime she placed or considered herself with Dimitri, he was already taken.

_And now so am I._

* * *

A half hour later, Dimitri pulled into Rose's driveway. Lissa's Honda was in the driveway.

"I'm going to get an earful for not calling," Rose muttered unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Your cousin is just overprotective."

"She acts more like my mother than my cousin."

"Just tell her what happened," Dimitri suggested as Rose gathered her things. His hand was on his seatbelt as if he was about to ask if he should come in to help explain things.

"I'll be fine. She just worries about me. Well, that, and she hates being home alone. She watches too many episodes of 20/20 and Dateline," Rose explained.

"I can't blame her. Your house is huge." He sounded confused by the fact that Rose and Lissa lived in a nice house but she couldn't afford to go to college.

Rose glanced at the blue house she called home for so many years. It had seemed so big to her when she first moved in but now it seemed so small.

"Did you imagine me living in a cruddy apartment in the city?" she asked teasingly.

"I honestly never imagined where you lived. I figured you were always at the clinic, even after it closed," he laughed still looking at the house.

Rose imagined it had something to do with Dimitri finding it difficult to picture her with or anywhere else than with him.

"Well this is my humble abode," she gestured climbing out of the car. "No nude paintings of Lissa and I but it's home," she said referencing to a conversation she'd had with Dimitri about his house.

She walked around the car to Dimitri's side leaning through his open window. "Thank you for your failed attempts to fix my car, dinner, and our new and improved friendship," she smiled.

He returned the smile.

"You're very welcome. It's funny I was about to say something similar to you."

With a goodbye and the promise of seeing each other at work Rose went into the house, watching as Dimitri drove away when she closed the front door.

Immediately she caught the smell of alcohol.

She set down her belongings and the stuff from her car in the hallway. "Liss?" She called.

She heard the sound of slow footsteps and a moment later Lissa appeared in the doorway leading into the living room where Mia was sprawled out on the couch sleeping. Her hair, like Mia's, was disheveled and she was teetering tripping over every little thing on her way to Rose. When she finally reaches her cousin she bound into her, her breath nearly making Rose gag.

"I see you had a good time with Mia. Maybe too good of a time. I'm not even going to ask how you got home."

"You have me to thank," Christian said walking into the room from the kitchen holding a coffee mug. "Where the hell were you? Do you know that Lissa and Mia were a few seconds from driving home themselves tonight? I thought you were supposed to go with them as the designated driver," he exclaimed walking toward Lissa who was singing an old Hanna Montana song. She was shaking her hips and trying to dance while Rose still held her up.

"First of all, Lissa is usually the designated driver and I thought she had enough common sense, even when drunk, to not drive home drunk. Second, my car broke down." She decided to leave out the part about Dimitri figuring it'd make the situation seem that much worse that she didn't come directly home and that it was none of his business. Lissa was still dancing and then suddenly let herself fall into Rose arms against her chest, Rose catching a gust of her breath.

"You smell like a brewery," Rose said disgusted, turning her head to avoid the smell.

"Like you've smelt better," He said grabbing a hold of Lissa, trying to tip the coffee into her mouth.

"Just let her sleep it off," Rose said as Lissa wiggled away from the mug.

"No coffee. We need something stronger!" She screamed excitedly pointing to the liquor cabinet. "Then we can do another table top dance. Woo!" She starts wiggling the bottom of her blouse up and both Rose and Christian hastily put it down.

"She has work tomorrow Miss Responsibility."

"Don't nag me about responsibility you lousy excuse for a boyfriend!" Rose shouted back, letting him take on Lissa's full weight. Rose was irritated that the calm feeling from before was completely gone now, so easily.

"Screw you Rose! What goes on between Lissa and I is none of your-"

"She's my cousin, my responsibility. Family comes first so news flash: you're not family!"

She stood away from him, hands on hips, as Lissa even seemed sobered and affected by her words. In truth, no she'd never gotten along with Christian. He was the one that occupied most of Lissa's time, that took Lissa away from her. Maybe he'd been a good boyfriend before this Jill person came along and even Rose herself had defended him just a few weeks ago. The fact that Christian was here now, though, throwing the blame on her that Lissa and Mia both could've died because she wasn't there was Rose's breaking point.

Her words seemed to sting him enough, something they'd never done before, silencing him.

He gave Lissa a light shove and she fell onto Rose again on Christian's way out. "Fine. You know what, I've had enough of you two. The blonde drunk is giving me crap about someone I've told her is just an old friend and her cousin, someone who's failed at everything and screws everything else is getting in the way of Lissa and I. So you two wanted each other, you can have each other. I'm done!" He was at the front door now pulling on his coat. "Your welcome for saving your cousin and your friend's life."

With that he slammed the front door closed leaving Rose with Lissa who was singing an Outcast song 'Roses'.

"Just you and me kiddo, as usual," Rose muttered lifting her cousin upstairs. She left Mia on the couch in her deep sleep after coverin gher friend with a blanket and removing her shoes.

She wondered if Lissa would be mad when she found out about Rose's argument with Christian. She'd worry about it later. She helped her into her pajamas, washing her up and then laying her into her bed.

"…Rosie…" Lissa was muttering snuggling down into her bed.

"What?"

"I said I'm glad you're here Rosie," Lissa said a little more clearly. Her breath smelt a little better after the mouthwash.

"Meet too, L." Lissa sneezed sending some of her DNA onto Rose. "Fun times," she added tucking her cousin in a bit more.

"It's mean too say but I'm gonnasayitanyway!" Lissa said in one long breath. "I'm glad your family isn't as perfect as my family 'cause then you wouldn't be here."

Rose froze at the mention of the word _family_. It seemed she and Lissa were throwing that word around a lot lately. She sat down beside Lissa on the bed, unblinkingly.

Lissa's eyes opened when Rose didn't say anything. She patted a hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"Don't be sad anymore Rosie. No more crying. No more hurting. You still have my family."

Lissa leaned up briefly to hug Rose tightly for someone who is drunk and then plopped back down onto the bed, rolling over, turning her back to Rose. "It'll all be over soon," she breathed before falling into a sleep as deep as Mia's.

Rose stood up from the bed a few moments later after sitting in the dark, unlit room. She was careful to gently close the bedroom door behind her, walking to her own room, not crying until her door was closed, only stopping when she fell into a deep sleep that even the nice memories of the time she'd spent with Dimitri couldn't distract her from.

Her entire sleep wasn't dreamless though...

* * *

She woke up with Lissa's words in her head, everything she'd said last night, and couldn't help remembering…

_Rose was standing in the doorway, as everyone was getting ready, bustling and hustling past her. She wondered if everyone hurried past her because they didn't know what to say or if they were hurting as much as she was. Maybe they were trying to keep busy to stop the hurting, Rose thought as her aunt hurried by tugging Lissa behind her. _

"_Lissa, honey, keep Rosie company, huh," Aunt Rhea said standing Lissa beside Rose. The girls were dressed similarly in button down coats that fell to their stocking covered knees and snow boots. The differences were that where Lissa wore a headband Rose wore a black beanie hat and Lissa wore her mother's dragon necklace at her neck. Rose wished she had something of her mother's, maybe her favorite scarf. _

_Remembering the scarf and the last time she'd seen it, Rose shuddered. Lissa noticed taking a hold of her cousin's cool hand. _

_She pulled Rose to one of the couches and they struggled to climb up and sit down, their feet nowhere near touching the ground._

_The couch they sat on faced the fireplace lined with family photos. There was Lissa, Andre, Aunt Rhea and Uncle Eric, a few photos with Rose included and at the very end a Christmas photo of everyone including her mom. _

_Rose started to cry, silent tears running down her cheeks. When a sob let out, Lissa wrapped a small arm around her shoulders trying to hug her cousin as much as she could._

_"Don't be sad anymore Rosie. No more crying. No more hurting. You still have my family." Rose tried to nod, to acknowledge the sentiment but her sobs were shaking her entire body violently. Lissa tightened the hug a bit._

"_C'mon you two," aunt Rhea said. The girls didn't know it but she'd been standing in the doorway watching her daughter comfort her niece fighting her own tears. She walked into the room with a stiff upper lip. "Time to go."_

_She took a hold of both girls' hands helping them off of the couch. She straightened her daughter's coat out first before turning to Rose, trying to straighten her outfit as well. She met her niece's eyes with her sparkling green ones on her somber face. _

"_Don't worry Rosie. It'll all be over soon."_

_She stood from her crouch grabbing a hold of each girl's hand, leading out of the room, hand in hand, all the while, Rose fighting the urge to look back at the photo of her mother._

* * *

Rose reluctantly climbed out of bed. Today felt like one of those days where she stayed in bed with nothing but some food and maybe a couple of books.

She dressed in khakis and a tank top before heading downstairs.

Mia was face down at the counter while Lissa stood in front of the coffee maker, her hair looking like a crow's nest.

"You two look like shi-"  
"Thanks, Rose. We've already seen our reflections," Lissa said cutting her off.

"Will you two stop shouting!" Mia said lifting her head up, a napkin stuck to her forehead.

Rose laughed reaching for the cereal box. "So how was girls night out? Actually don't tell me. I know how it ended."

"All I remember is body shots, the hokey pokey-"

"And a strip tease, bar dance," Rose filled in. Lissa's eyes widened.

"No way! You weren't even there how would you-"  
"You were going to give Christian and I a private dance last night," Rose chuckled forgetting her earlier sadness.

"I don't remember idiot boy being there," Mia mumbled.

At the mention of Christian Rose tensed remembering last night's argument. "He…uh…was the one to drive you idiots home."

"Why are we idiots?" Lissa asked.

"Because he told me you two were going to drive home drunk, that's why you're idiots."

"I don't remember that but I'm having trouble remembering my own name right now," Mia yawned.

"I kind of remember…I remember being mad that you weren't there because you were probably with Adrian having a nice relationship unlike me and Christian so I started to drink and then I got really drunk and called Christian and…oh my gosh," Lissa trailed off in embarrassment.

"I distinctly remembering you grinding on someone without your shirt on but I don't think it was Christian but he was standing next to me," Mia said, he amused voice muffled by the counter top.

"Just another awesome moment in our relationship and in my life in general," Lissa muttered. "And now I have to go to work fighting a hang over."

"I don't think you have to worry about Christian." Rose figured now was as good as a time as ever to tell Lissa about her fight with Christian.

"Why's that?"

Rose sighed before telling her story starting from when her car broken down to Christian angrily leaving.

When she finished Mia was face up, her wide eyes now alert with the anticipation of gossip and Lissa's mouth hung open.

"I don't know what to be more upset about. The fact that my relationship is over, that you went out with Dimitri without calling or both!" she shrieked.

"I think I'm more upset about the Dimitri thing. Christian's just male-PMS-ing, he'll call. The Dimitri thing though," Mia trailed off.

"Nothing happened," Rose clarified.

"That's good and I'm proud but you shouldn't have gone with him in the first place. You could've done something you regretted and ruined your Adrian situation which you're already kind of ruining," Mia rambled.

"Ruined like she ruined my relationship? You seem to have a knack for doing that."

"Lissa I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to ruin anything-"

"But you did," she interrupted. She slammed her mug into the sink running a hand through her hair. She sighed grabbing her bag. "You know I'm just going to go to work, I'll call Christian on my lunch break. I'll talk to you later, Mia. Thanks for the awesomeness of last night," she said mostly sarcastic on her way out.

She glanced at Rose, brushing past her with a glare before slamming the door shut.

"Well, last night was fun, we have to do these girl night's more often," Mia muttered drinking a bit of coffee Rose set in front of her.

"Lissa's only ever been really mad at me a few times and most of those times involved messing with Christian. I think I really did it this time," Rose said leaning against the counter.

"It'll pass. Soon you two will be besties again and all will be well."

"From the death glare she just gave me, I think this is the real deal. She's P.O.-ed."

"It's these men, they're driving us crazy," Mia said simply.

"You're love life seems to be doing well, you and Ivan."

"That's because our relationship is based on entirely different subject matter."

"Such as..." Rose prodded.

"For starters, I find that it helps to experiment with body positions. This one time-"

Rose held up her hands to stop her. "Forget I asked. I don't think body positions of any of the kinky stuff is going to help me and Liss."

"I'll talk to her. You just worry about your own life and how you're going to make it up to your actual boyfriend."

"Make what up?"

"He called before Lissa and I left last night and then again this morning. I'm surprised you didn't hear it, you sleep like a dead person."

Rose froze at the word dead and shook her head to let her head clear of the Christian situation and her own memories of this morning. Maybe Mia was right. She'd focus on her own love life for now until this thing with Lissa blew over.

All she needed was the welcome distraction of her boyfriend Adrian.


	31. Chapter 31: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

Dimitri had done it. He was the good guy.

_You'd think by doing the right thing I wouldn't feel so bad. _

He tried to ignore how awful he felt by being turned down, something he'd never experienced before, by focusing on how proud he was of himself for being honest with himself and Rose. He felt good about not being the jerk he normally was. He wasn't going to be that guy anymore. From now on he was going to let Rose be with Adrian without interference. His feelings about Adrian would never change, he hated him, but he decided it was up to Rose to see the evil that Dimitri saw in Adrian.

"Thinking about that special someone?" Ivan asked seating himself beside Dimitri at the bar.

"I think I was having one of those epiphanies I hear so much about," Dimitri answered.

"Really? Were you finally realizing that I'm better looking than you?"

"That's an epiphany I'll never have because it isn't true," Dimitri laughed.

Ivan rolled his eyes hiding his own laughter. He signaled the bartender and asked for a soda.

Dimitri looked at him questioning.

"_You're_ not drinking?"

"Nope," Ivan answered proudly sipping his Coke.

"Okay, I'm going to go find a church because I'm pretty sure hell just froze over."

Ivan laughed finishing the rest of his coke. "I am drinking this soda because my nights with Mia, who is currently planning a Valentines Day surprise for me at my apartment as we speak, are much better when we're sober because then I can remember and hold on to those memories when I'm not with her."

"You sound like a man in love," Dimitri acknowledged.

"I choose the word enchanted. She has enchanted me with her many toys, positions, costumes, role playing…the list can go on," he sighed happily.

Dimitri glared at his friend, envious that his relationship was going a lot better than his own.

"Seems like you've found your perfect match."

"Yes and it started at this very bar."

"The story of how you two met should make a nice story for you kids. 'It all started when mommy proposed a threesome.' It's like a fairytale," Dimitri laughed drinking from his glass. He wasn't drinking anything too strong because he was driving home later.

"That _would_ make a nice story," Ivan said somewhat seriously. "So, what brings _you_ here to the Dirty Double? What is this epiphany you say you're having?"  
"I'm becoming a better person. I'm content for once."

"So it wasn't just my imagination. I thought there was something different with you this past week, humming during examinations, laughing and smiling, which is starting to freak me out by the way. I was waiting for you to stop everything and break out into song today."

"I just feel so _good_," Dimitri shrugged, unsure of how to explain it.

"I think that's because of the alcohol."

"No, no. Well maybe a little but it's something else too." He started to explain about his talk with Rose last week at the beach.

"So she turned you down?" Ivan asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"You gave her one of your full on, Russian god kisses and she pulled away?"  
"Actually I think that had something to do with the homeless man that interrupted but yes."

"And you feel good about that?"

"I feel good because for once I don't feel so emotionless, hollow or empty all of the time and there's a little bit less drama now," Dimitri explained. "For once, in my life, I'm the good guy, the one who does the right thing for the right reasons."

"Does being the good guy include drinking?"

"Actually, I was just trying to kill sometime before meeting Tasha. She has something planned for Valentines Day," Dimitri explained pulling out his wallet to pay for the drinks.

"Yeah, I'd need a drink before meeting Tasha too," Ivan muttered. Dimitri finished his drink and they stood to leave the bar. "Well, I'm happy you and Rose worked things out. I kind of expected things between you two to go a different way after the talk I had with her before."

"You mean the talk where you pushed her _closer_ to Adrian?"

"Not one of my best pep talks," Ivan said rubbing his neck with the back of his hand.

"Any pep talk given to someone sitting on a bus bench is bound to not make a lasting impression. It's okay though because she wants to be with Adrian and I'm not getting in her way."

"Isn't that what every rejected guy in every crappy romantic comedy says right before he _does_ get in the way of his true love's love?"

"And when have you had time to watch these crappy romantic comedies?" Dimitri asked teasingly, unlocking the doors to his car.

Ivan looked very proud to answer, "I have a little free time while I'm waiting for Mia to recover for the next round."

Dimitri could feel himself making a disgusted face at the image. Ivan unlocked his own car doors, the two men ready to leave for the night.

"Whelp I'm going to go home and try to burn the image of you two out of my mind by replacing them with my own intimate evening," Dimitri said not sounding particularly eager about that last part.

"You never answered me though. Are the cheesy romantic guy in the comedy movie that's eventual going to realize he can no long deny his love and go after the woman of his dreams?"

Dimitri thought for a moment, as he was about to get into his car. When he finally answered his mood brimming with happiness from before was dimmer now and a little bit sad.

"Maybe in a fantasy world, yeah I might be that guy, but lucky for me things like that don't happen in real life."

* * *

**_A/N: A short chapter but another is soon to follow. I want to say that I appreciate the very awesomely nice (if that makes any sense) reviews the so many people sent. I can't express enough gratitude so I shall thank you guys with more updates. Thanks again!_**


	32. Chapter 32: Rose

_**Rose**_

This week was one of the good ones.

Rose found herself actually looking forward to going to work more often than she had in past weeks. She'd pass by Dimitri or see him when he needed help making his rounds and they'd give polite hellos without any indication that their last kiss had happened.

They even had lunch together a few times.

_"Lunch?" Dimitri offered once the last patient had left. _

_Rose hesitated for a moment. She didn't want them to fall back into the awkwardsness and arguing from before. _

_"We're still good right, things between us are okay?"_

_"Yeah," she breathed._

_"And we're friends who happen to be employee and boss?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"So, lunch?" he asked again._

_This time she didn't hesitate. _

Things were good despite Ivan's comments about something along the lines of 'cheesy romantic comedies' and things being only a matter of time. Needless to say she ignored him.

Plus for once it seemed her love life was doing okay.

The last week had actually been perfect.

If Rose ignored the fact that Lissa wasn't really speaking to her _then_ the week was perfect.

If she was luck she'd get a barely discernable yes or no to a question she'd asked but that was rare. At first Rose pestered Lissa's with 'I'm Sorry' pancakes at breakfast and a frowny face at dinner with her kitchen. Rose was starting to feel a little angry herself after a couple of days.

There were two people that night arguing and Lissa seemed only mad at one of them. Not to mention they were only arguing because of Lissa's drunkenness.

Rose's biggest worry was that everything she'd ever done to upset Lissa in the past that she looked the other way or easily forgave before was now coming back to haunt her and her cousin was finally completely done with her.

Mia downplayed her fears.

"_Just give it some more time."_

"_It's been almost a week. It's not I like slept with Christian or anything!" Rose nearly shouted tugging her free hand in her hair, the other hand holding her cell phone to her ear. _

"_No you didn't but to Lissa you basically gave her boyfriend an ultimatum, excluding him from her life without her say so, and sent him off probably into Jill's waiting arms."_

_Rose felt her stomach drop a few feet. She hadn't thought of it like that. She was starting to worry there was no way to make this up to her cousin. _

"_What did I do?" She asked to herself. _

_Mia answered anyway. "You were just trying to be a good cousin. Lissa will come around. I'm supposed to have dinner with her later. I'll talk to her then."_

"_So I guess I'm eating alone tonight," Rose sighed disappointed. More than anything she hated eating alone. _

_It gave her that gloomy feeling that everyone else seemed to have a life except for her. _

"_Or you can call that boyfriend of yours," Mia suggested lightening the mood. "I don't know how you have time to worry about Lissa when you've been out with Adrian nearly every night this week. Every time I call you, you tell me you'll call me back because you're with Adrian."_

"_I'm taking your advice and I'm giving him a chance." It was actually Lissa's advice but Rose decided to give credit to the friend that was actually speaking to her. _

"_I hope for all this time your spending with him you're at least getting rewarded with gifts. Or sex. Either would be fine with me 'cause then you'll be in a better mood most of the time."_

In all honesty, Rose hadn't once thought about sleeping with Adrian. They spent so much of their time out eating at the finest restaurants and just talking that the subject hadn't come up. Plus they'd only been together for a short time.

_That didn't stop me before. _

Things were improved between them though. Occasionally Rose had that feeling of their first disaster date though.

Sometimes she'd feel really sad or bad about herself while she was talking to Adrian, similar to their first few get togethers. The times she felt this way though were so small and insignificant and fleeting that she felt like it was only her imagination and that it wasn't worth bringing it up and she kept it to herself.

Sometimes it had to do with her appearance or maybe something that she said or did something that sounded dumb or stupid to Adrian.

_Adrian was picking her up for an office party for the financial business Adrian worked for. She'd walked downstairs in a simple black dress and flats._

_"How do I look?" She asked. She wasn't sure what she should wear for an office party especially since she'd never been to one. _

_Adrian grasped her hand and looked her over smiling gently. "You look nice, a little bit relaxed, but it'll do. Let's go."_

_She stood stunned for a moment looking down at her own dress. "S-should I go change? I mean I feel nervous enough as it is and-"_

"_Rose, you look fine. Don't worry. I shouldn't have said anything. Let's go. There's a catering service the company hired that I know you'll love."_

_And just like that the moment had passed. Rose glanced down at herself once more before letting Adrian lead her out to his car. _

_He'd laughed simply, "You can be so silly sometimes, Rose." _

_Rose shrugged laughing the moment away herself. _

Admittedly, every date they had afterward, Rose found herself dressing as formal as she could even if they were simply going to a coffee shop or out to lunch.

She wanted to tell him that his patronizing wasn't an endearing trait but the moment would pass so quickly she'd forget about a moment later or it seemed unimportant.

She was so dazzled by some of the gifts he'd give her, a box of the finest chocolates in existence or maybe a necklace, that she didn't really mind that he spent most of the time talking while she sat listening. It took some time getting used to but in a way it was nice to hear about someone else's troubles and worries, even if they were about business, for once.

Rose also reasoned that she overlooked the few faults she found in Adrian because they were times when she found he was surprisingly nice, that she found out of character for him for some reason, and the little things he did that she didn't like didn't seem to matter anymore.

One of these nice moments took place the day after her night with Dimitri at the pier.

_"It keeps surprising me when you call. I always get the feeling, after one of our dates, that you'll never call again," he said answering the phone when Rose called to see if he wanted to do something today._

_She wasn't really sure what to say to that. "Here I am, reassuring your worries."_

"_That you are. So what have I done to be graced by one of your phone calls?"_

"_I was thinking we could do something today. Go eat, like we usually do or something. I just want to get out of the house," she admitted trying to forget about her situation with Lissa. _

_Without asking what was wrong or bothering Rose enough for her to want to leave the house Adrian asked, "Sure. Do you want to meet me somewhere?"_

"_Actually my lack of car is part of the reason I want to get out of the house," she explained a little irritated that he didn't seem concerned anything was wrong. _

_She told him about her car trouble leaving out the part about going to the pier. _

"_Noble, chivalrous Belikov," he chuckled more to himself when Rose mentioned that's how she got home. Rose felt like he didn't listen to a word about her actual car breaking down. There was a brief pause before he offered, "I'll tell you what. I'll come pick you up and then for the rest of the week until you get your car fixed I'll lend you my town car, driver and all."_

_Rose was so stunned, forgetting about her brief annoyance. "That's so nice and sweet but I couldn't-"_

"_Sure you can. We'll discuss the details over lunch."_

True to his word Adrian had loaned her his town car, driver and all that dropped her off and picked her up to and from work and wherever else she wanted to go.

Rose felt like she should've shown more appreciation for Adrian.

_"Why don't you give him a strip tease?" Mia suggested once Rose got home from her date with Adrian and she explained his offer._

"_I want to show my appreciation, not my nonexistent skills as a pole-dancer," Rose reminded her. "I need ideas for appreciation that don't revolve around your weird toys or sex or a mixture of the two."_

"_You can't have one without the other, Rosie. You came to the wrong person for advice."_

"_Well I would've asked Lissa but I'm still getting the cold shoulder. She won't return my texts or calls. Have you talked to her yet?"  
"Rose, it's only been a couple of hours. I sent her a text and she said once she calms down a bit, lets her hangover pass, and throws a few darts at a picture of you then she call me and we'll go out and have one our special sentimental friendship talks where I convince her that she shouldn't be mad at you and all is well and happy, rainbows and unicorns and all."_

"_Fine. I leave the fate of me and Lissa's relationship in your hands. Putting that aside for a moment, how do I thank Adrian?"_

"_You could just say 'thank you'. Sounds like he's grateful enough when you call him. I don't see why. I'm never that excited when you call," Mia muttered laughing._

"_Thanks," Rose said dryly. _

Rose thought about Mia's suggestions and anything involving sex was out. She didn't spend a lot of time, or any time for that matter, thinking about sleeping with Adrian. It didn't seem to be on Adrian's mind either, which Rose found both a little insulting and weird but it didn't it bother her too much.

The subject just never came up and, Rose figured it was only a matter of time and inevitable, she wasn't sure what she'd do if and when the topic did ever come up.

That's why Rose was stunned when the subject _did_ come up.

_Rose and Adrian sat outside of a small café in the nicer part of the city when a street vendor rolled by offering early roses and chocolates for Valentines Day._

_Rose had never been the celebrating-holidays-with-a-bang type. She forgot Valentine's Day was just around the corner. She doubted Adrian was the celebratory type either. _

"_Valentine's Day is coming up," he acknowledged gesturing to the vendor's cart. _

_She nodded trying to swallow the strong coffee she'd ordered. _

_Adrian took a moment to type something into his phone and then lying it facedown on the table before bringing it up again. _

"_I was thinking that maybe we should do something to celebrate our first holiday together."_

_Rose didn't really consider Valentines Day a 'holiday'._

"_Maybe we should do as the other wealthy couples do and go away for the weekend," he suggested._

_She froze at the use of the word 'couple'. She liked the sound of it, her being half of whole. The term had never been used in reference to her with someone else. She wondered if this is how Lissa felt when she proudly used the word 'couple' when she had referred to herself and Christian. Thoughts about Lissa and Christian start to dim her mood so she pushed those thoughts aside with a joke._

"_I don't think you can include my meager salary to call us a 'wealthy couple'," she laughed. _

"_You contribute to our relationship. You bought _me _coffee a couple of times," he smiled. He had a nice gentle smile, business like though, not personal. "So what do you think? We can go anywhere we want to for the weekend."_

_Rose wasn't stupid. She imagined his suggestion had an underlying to reason._

_She knew this was an indicator that he intended to sleep with her, a hint that he wanted or expected, this relationship to go to the next level. She considered letting it happen but if she was being honest with herself, as she had promised to do, she wasn't as excited or looking forward to it as she should've been. Her heart wasn't leaping out of her chest or blood racing to certain parts of her body. She figured that her worries about her relationship with Lissa had something to do with things and that she'd be more excited later. _

"_It sounds great." _

_Her cheeks hurt from the forced smile she plastered on her face._

* * *

_**A/N: I appreciated the NICE reviews and to those 'special reviewers' who insist on bashing on my story, the only thing I have to say is a reminder: the beauty about fanfiction or any book/story for that matter is that you don't have to read it or review. Also, in case those of you 'special reviewers' haven't noticed, this is a Rose and Dimitri story as are the majority of my stories (except for one). Not to mention that this story isn't close to it's ending and there's still a ways to go. Everything that's happening is happening for a reason and ties into the story. As if this is the only story where Rose is hurt or damaged in someway. **_

_**Anyways, nor more of my rambling. **_

_**That's all I'm going to say about the 'special reviewers' anymore. Thank you for you 'positive reviewers' and it's awesome having so many happy people reading my story. **_

_**A very special thanks to the positive reviewers, especially Dimkaisshmexy24! I value you all a lot. Your reviews keep me going. **_

_**Oh, and I apologize if my flashbacks and present time scenes are confusing. **_


	33. Chapter 33: Dimitri

**_Dimitri_**

"What do you think?"

Natasha moved around the small glass table set for two, lighting candles.

"I think this is where we eat almost every night," Dimitri said tossing his bag on the couch while pulling off his coat. He had been relying heavily on the alcohol to get him through this dinner with Tasha but cursed himself for being the responsible doctor and only having two drinks at the bar with Adrian.

It had never seemed so hard before, merely having a dinner with Tasha. He used to be able to get through it with a few nods of acknowledgement to whatever she said, which usually wasn't much because she spent the majority of dinner pushing buttons on her phone set beside her plate, or he'd just let his mind wander off, thinking about whatever work he had to do later.

Recently he found himself thinking more about Rose than work and, conveniently, Tasha seemed to interrupt him each time Dimitri had a fleeting image of long exotic hair he'd run his fingers through once or twice, glistening brown eyes he had tried to avoid before but couldn't stop thinking about, and softest skin that the barest touch sent what felt like electric shocks through his body.

He hoped tonight was one of the nights he'd be able to daydream while Tasha either rambled or pecked at her phone. It didn't matter which so long as her actions didn't act as a distraction for him. He had his doubts though.

They'd never been the couple to celebrate what they classified as 'trivial holidays' like Valentine's Day and more and more it seemed their conversations, one sided conversations mostly on Tasha's part, had to do with what money was being spent where, when they should start planning for their nuptials, who Tasha had run into at the country club, little things that seemed to irritate her more and more, and how Tasha's day went with each and every detail described in between.

That's why Dimitri was surprised that Tasha was even celebrating Valentine's at all.

"You show no appreciation for the little things I do," Tasha said shaking a match's flame out.

"I'm just trying to figure out why you're suddenly into the corny holidays like Valentines Day."

"I just wanted us to be like other couples for once and have a nice evening at home together alone-"

"We're always home alone here," Dimitri interrupted.

Tasha acted as if he hadn't even spoken. "Besides there's nothing open on Valentines day besides restaurants and lingerie stores and I don't see the point in buying lingerie when it comes off anyway," she huffed placing dishes on the table.

"It's supposed to create anticipation," Dimitri pointed out walking into one of the bathrooms to wash is hands.

He glanced at Tasha before heading into the bathroom and saw he roll her eyes. Dimitri forgot how similar Tasha was to the way he _use_ to be, not appreciating small moments when being alone together with someone else. Dimitri wished he'd cherished the little moments he could've had before with the women he'd been with but he had a feeling that it wouldn't haven been the same as if he had shared those moments with Rose.

Dimitri reflected on one of few moments he _did_ have with Rose.

"_Plans for V-day?" _

"_That sounds really gross," Rose laughed sliding the napkins across Dimitri's desk as they finished dinner one evening._

_It was one of those days where the waiting room had still been filled with more than a dozen people past five when things usually started to wind down. Looking forward to a dinner with the girl who didn't reciprocate his feelings anymore was what got Dimitri through the day. It was the first time he'd been able to sit down and just relax instead of running from examining to examining bumping into Ivan and a couple of nurses and receptionist a few times. Dimitri and Rose reasoned they earned a late dinner after a long day's work. _

_Dimitri chuckled realizing his questioned didn't come out right. "You know what I meant," he chuckled. _

_Rose closed the Styrofoam container her meal was in not meeting Dimitri's eyes. Dimitri found himself counting how often he was able to even get a glance of Rose's eyes but this wasn't one of them. _

"_Umm…I think Adrian has something planned." She glances up as if gouging his reaction and then smiled slightly to herself. "What about you? Do you and the wife have anything planned?"_

_Dimitri almost automatically corrected that Tasha wasn't his wife yet but stopped himself. "A dinner at home apparently," he said sounding none too thrilled._

"_I've never understood that. If you're going to celebrate Valentine's Day with someone you supposedly care about or love, wouldn't you want to do something special?"_

"_It's a tradition with Tasha. She likes to keep it simple. Usually we don't do anything so this dinner is a special thing for her."_

"_Please, calm down Dimitri your excitement is blowing me away," she said sarcastically getting up to throw their trash away. _

"_These 'in-between' holidays are just pointless to me," Dimitri said standing, pulling on his coat._

"'_In-between holidays'?"  
"Holidays between the major holidays like new year's and Christmas," he explained. "They just don't mean anything."_

"_They mean something as long as you're with someone special," Rose explained._

_She gave a soft smile over her shoulder that nearly made Dimitri tremble. He gathered his composure long enough, reminding himself he's a grown man that no woman should have even the slightest affect on. _

_They walked out into the chilly air, the fog revealing their cool breaths. _

"_I've been meaning to ask, how have you been getting home?" _

_Rose gestured to a sleek black town car across the street._

"_Adrian?" Dimitri asked resisting the urge to sigh. _

_In a twisted diluted fantasy he imagined Rose needing a ride home from Dimitri every day after work and that she'd have no one to ask and rely on except Dimitri. This was just a fantasy though, one of many. _

_She nodded. "He offered me his town car and driver until I have my jeep fixed."_

"_If you're riding in a town car with a driver why even have the jeep fixed?" Dimitri joked trying to ignore his growing irritation at the mention of Adrian. _

"_Good point," Rose laughed. She turned on her heel to face Dimitri after he locked the clinic's doors. _

"_Dimitri…" she started. Her lips hung open, slightly parted, the wind blowing her hair across her face. _

_Before she could say anything her phone buzzed in her bag._

"_Sorry," she apologized glancing at the screen. She looked back up at Dimitri, her mouth opened to speak again only to be interrupted by another buzz from her phone and the honk of the town car's horn._

_Rose turned to gesture to the driver, signaling for him to wait. _

"_I hope I'm not getting you in trouble by keeping you so late," Dimitri said somewhat smug at the thought that he was ruining Adrian and Rose's time together, even if it was in the smallest of ways it felt good. _

"_No, no. He knows I have to work late sometimes. Stan is just a really impatient driver because Adrian has him trained to be promptly on time from place to place," she explained._

_She pushed a button on her phone ready to speak only to have it buzz again. She huffed out a sigh. _

"_Everything okay?"_

_There was a long moment before she nodded. "Yeah I just wanted to…" she looked up at Dimitri and then back down at her phone again sighing. "Never mind." The horn honked again in synch with her phone ringing. "I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."_

_All too soon she was walking away from Dimitri._

_He found himself standing there a moment longer wondering what it was exactly that she was going to tell him._

"I know you're a doctor but your hands don't have to be that sterile," Tasha said dryly pulling Dimitri from his memory.

He immediately shut the water off drying his hands.

"You've been really weird lately," Tasha acknowledged as they sat down at the table.

She spread her napkin across her lap.

"Just have a lot of my mind," he said simply.

"Do these thoughts involve a certain brunette whose name matches that of an overrated flower?"

Dimitri didn't want to lie. A majority of his thoughts did involve Rose lately. He also didn't want to get into another argument with Tasha over trust and his (former) wandering ways and how she hated that Rose was working for Dimitri.

"Just work," he lied.

She smirked sipping from her wineglass. "Bull," he heard her mutter.

He bit back whatever comment he was going to make, just wanting to get through this night.

She set down her glass as Dimitri started nibbling on the food on his plate, hoping the subject would be dropped.

"You know, Dimitri," she started. Dimitri groaned internally. Externally he rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "You've been behaving…oddly. You're not the same man that I-"

He waited for her to say 'fell in love with'.

"-intend to marry," she went on.

"Thank goodness," he muttered.

Someplace in the back of his mind he hoped this would be the moment he'd been thinking about a lot lately, a conclusion he'd reached a few days ago when he was lost in thought while giving a six year old a shot: he wasn't going to marry Tasha.

Tasha ignored his comment. She took a few deep breaths, glanced at her phone once, and smiled her formal smile. "Despite your behavior, things will all be better soon, I'm sure of it."

* * *

"It sounds like she gave you an ultimatum," Ivan said wrapping his stethoscope around his neck getting ready for the day's events.

"Change your weird behavior or we're not getting married?" Dimitri asked for clarification. "Sounds more like a threat, one I'm willing to live with."

Ivan laughed. "It'll be hard but we'll find someway to get through it by drinking and sleeping around, maybe with a particular Rose."

Dimitri just laughed.

"If I end up with Rose somehow I will admit that fate and destiny are real."

"And," Ivan added. "You'll get a tattoo with the words 'Sexy Ivan Is Always Right' on your forehead."

"I'm a doctor. I need to look presentable without forehead tattoos to help me."

"Okay, you'll get the tat on your upper arm. One of my patients told me that girl's love upper arm tattoos," he said as they started walking the halls.

"Really?"

"Yeah was showing me the tattoo on her boyfriend's arm that attract her to him as I was stitching up the stab wound in his other shoulder," Ivan explained.

"How'd he get the stab wound?"

"She stabbed him with a pen when she thought he was cheating."

"Romantic. True love," Dimitri noted.

"Was the rest of your Valentine's day/weekend good though?"  
"Tasha was out most of the time shopping so yeah it was pretty good. I'm just not looking forward to when the end of the month bill comes. I may need you to operate on me when I have a heart attack after seeing the prices of everything she's bought.

"She's still a big spend huh?"

"I think I saw her buy a pack of gum for ten dollars o yeah she spending frugally. Anyway, enough about me. How was your get together with Mia or do I even want to know?"

Ivan grinned holding his hands that he suddenly seemed so enamored with, out in front of him for both Dimitri and himself to examine.

"All I have to say is these hands weren't just made to be a doctor. They were made for-"

Dimitri stopped him as they neared the reception desk forcing his arms down.

"I'm going to stop you right there because any way you ended that statement is going to gross me out."

"I could end it with love, tender touch…masturbation," he listed, amused by the expression on his friend's face. "The list goes on. Besides, you're a doctor in a city clinic. You should be used to such vulgar terms."

"There're children present," he reasoned gesturing to the families already in the waiting room through the sliding glass.

"Fine. I'll fill you in on the nitty gritty details later."

"I beg you not to," Dimitri muttered.

"Would you prefer photos and video instead?"

Dimitri ignored him checking the sign in chart and saw Rose wasn't signed in yet. He felt like something was missing while he'd been walking along side Ivan and he realized Rose wasn't there bantering with his friend over trivial subjects and laughing in between, giving Dimitri a nice start to the morning.

"_God morgon," Rose greeted. _

"_I'm Jewish," was the first response out of Ivan's mouth. "Don't push your faith on me," he joked._

_She gave him a dry look, fighting a smile, while setting her belongings down for the day._

_"It's good morning in Swedish."_

"_I know that it's recommended that everyone who works here is bilingual but I don't think we have too many Swedish people around here," Ivan said. Dimitri shook his sipping the mug of coffee Rose handed him. _

"_I was experimenting-"_

_Ivan interrupted. "I experimented in college. Actually Dimitri and I both did."_

"_That's a story you're going to regret telling her later," Dimitri laughed as Rose handed Ivan a cup of coffee._

"_I was testing out the language, using the few words I do know. Lissa reminded me this morning that there's a bit of Swedish in our family," she told them._

"_Ah. I know a few words in a couple of other languages."_

"_Like what?" Rose asked._

"_Words no one should say unless they're drunk and won't remember saying them later," Dimitri answered for Ivan._

"_True," Ivan nodded. "So if you're Swedish then do you and your cousin do the whole 'nude beach' thing 'cause I can get into that. Especially if you influence Mia."_

"_First of all, that's a stereo type-"_

"_It's a part of Swedish culture from what I've experienced," he interrupted as the three started walking._

"_Not everyone does it so it's a stereotype that horny men like you associate with women who aren't even completely Swedish."_

"_Or anything on two legs," Dimitri put in. _

"_Second of all," Rose laughed as Ivan rolled his eyes. "Mia will go nude with or without a beach. All you'd have to do is ask."_

"_I have. She says only on special occasions."_

"_Well then I don't know what to tell you. Mia is picky about when she'd nude."_

"_If women weren't so difficult and stubborn all women would feel comfortable to be nude in public all of the time," Ivan reasoned._

"_A man's dream," Rose muttered. _

"_A good dream."_

"_You'd want to see naked women all of the time, everywhere?"_

"_I'm a doctor. I see people naked all of the time anyway. Why not in public?"_

"_Let me get this straight. You want to see even a three hundred pound woman with body acne naked in the grocery store all of the time."_

_Ivan stopped, thinking about it. "You immediately had to go to the gross image and ruin my dream. Women," he huffed. _

_They bantered and disagreed the rest of the morning, Dimitri sighing, knowing it was going to be a long day but a good one._

"Is _your_ true love not signed in yet?" Ivan asked noticing Dimitri's curious expression.

"No," he answered ignoring the 'true love' comment.

"Weird. She's usually here before the rest of us even get out of bed," he acknowledged flipping through the patient list. "Maybe she's sick…bad Valentine's Day after affects."

"Maybe," Dimitri said deciding no to give it a second thought.

His instincts told him something different though, that things weren't right.

Something was wrong.

* * *

**A/N: I loved loved loved the reviews and private messages! Thanks for the support. Hope you liked the chapter!**


	34. Chapter 34: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose walked around the large hotel room and gazed out the patio window.

When Adrian had asked them to go away for the weekend she'd assumed, for some reason, that it'd be a small remote cottage somewhere in the woods. She'd been thinking about merely being away with him for an entire weekend that she hadn't really thought about where they were going and that it'd be a high-class hotel in the middle of New York.

The furthest she'd ever traveled was from Montana when she moved to Oregon as a kid

then there was a small trip to California but she didn't like thinking about that.

_The theme of the room must be gold, _she thought scanning the room with her eyes.

Everything from the ceiling, the furniture, and even the bathtub from what she could see- was gold or at the very least a shade of the bright color. The room practically screamed wealth.

She turned around to ask Adrian why he spent so much on one weekend away but remembered her suspicions that this was a ploy for him to sleep with her. She thought it was kind of corny, mostly because of Mia, that he planned all of this in sync with Valentines Day.

"Maybe he just didn't know when to ask you to have sex with him? You never really go to his place do you?" Mia asked after Rose told her she was going away for the weekend.

"_At first not really but now that Lissa is giving me death glares and I fear for my life sleeping just a few rooms away from her I've been spending a little time at his place."_

"_Sending him the wrong signals?"_

"_I haven't been sending any signals-"_

"_That's obvious or else he wouldn't have to resort to a corny getaway in order to get you in bed with him," she teased. _

On the flight to Manhattan she'd been thinking about all of the nights she was at Adrian's apartment and how it never once crossed her mind to sleep with him. She didn't really have the chance to since he spent most of his time on his phone or typing away at his computer. It seemed like most of the time she was there he didn't even realize it or acknowledge it.

Something else seemed more important.

She spent most of her time texting or talking to Mia or just staring out of the window of his high-rise condo…sometimes thinking about Lissa but other times she couldn't help it when her mind wandered to Dimitri.

She even, ashamed, found herself starting a text conversation with him on her new phone, that Adrian bought her, but then quickly erasing it. She couldn't help it. She was feeling sort of lonely with Lissa not talking to her and Adrian, even though they were together, ignoring her.

Adrian handed the bellhop a tip. He did a half bow before closing the hotel room's door behind him silently.

"This is a really nice place," Rose said forcing herself to tear her eyes away from the window that leading to the busy street below and the city's skyline that seemed to go on for miles in the distance.

"Did you expect any less?" he asked.

Rose admired him in his slacks and dress shirt with a few buttons undone at the top. She found herself suddenly wondering if her guilt and attempts to make amends was really a good reason to be with Adrian.

They had very few things in common, it was very rarely that he could make her smile or laugh, and no matter how much time they spent together, including this weekend, they didn't seem to be any closer. She wondered if Adrian felt the same way.

_He has to. It's obvious we're not a match, _she thought as Adrian encircled Rose's waist with his long arms. _Why is he still holding on?_

Adrian looked at her oddly and gave a lopsided smile. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Rose quickly hid her apprehension, unsure of all of the confusing feelings fighting inside of her.

"Just excited."

She wasn't really lying. She was excited about being in such a beautiful places surrounded by beautiful things. She just wasn't excited about the same things Adrian was.

"Me too," he smiled seductively leaning down to press a kiss to the Rose's collar bone.

Rose felt tingles run down her skin, the kind of tingles that one always experienced when kissed. She and Adrian had shared a few kisses of their own, the kind of kisses that occasionally led to the removal of someone's shirt or the removal of both of their shirts but it never went farther than that.

It was at that point when Adrian suddenly decided he had work to be done. He distanced himself as if pacing the relationship. Rose suspected it had to do with the control issues she suspected he had.

She shuddered, not from the amazingness of the kiss but lack there of. It didn't feel right.

"You know," she started, maneuvering in such a way that Adrian found difficulty keeping his mouth attached to the side of her neck. "I've never been to New York City."

"I suspected as much. It wasn't too hard thinking up a place to take you away for the weekend where you haven't been before."

Rose ignored the feeling that it was a backhanded comment as she always did. "I'd love a tour of the city and who better to give me one than the man who brought me here," she said a little to excitedly.

Adrian gave her another odd look but it faded into his casual smile.

"Alright, let's go sight seeing."

Rose wondered if by the trip's end, her feelings would have changed about Adrian. She's hoped to assuage her uncertain feelings about him by asking Dimitri a few nights ago what it was exactly he didn't like about Adrian. Maybe if Adrian's faults were pointed out by someone else she could learn to deal with them but she'd lost her nerve, not wanting to ruin the calm relationship between herself and Dimitri by bringing Adrian up, and because her driver, Stan, and Adrian had been annoying and insistently impatient that like all other nights since he 'd been driving her around.

Rose was starting to think that having Stan as her driver was an easier way for Adrian to control their get togethers.

There were times Rose would ask to be taken home or to the store.

"Mr. Ivashkov has requested that you be taken to an alternate destination," Stan would say formally and without another word he'd drive Rose to the 'alternate destination'.

_"Late night working again?" Adrian asked by way of greeting once Rose met him at the restaurant, he decided they'd have dinner the day before Valentine's Day weekend._

_"People seem to just keep getting sick or injured. Inconvenient, I know," she said sarcastically. Adrian made a sound, flipping through his menu that indicated he wasn't too pleased with her sarcasm but he didn't say anything aloud. He just glared in an unnerving way, a characteristic of his that made Rose shudder but happened so often she opted not to mention it. She reasoned that everyone has faults._

_"I'm sorry," she apologized, less because she meant but more because she felt she had to. Immediately his expression softened into his casual_ _smile. He signaled the waiter to bring Rose a drink without a word. "Long day."_

_"I can understand that. I've had a few of those days myself. I've learned to better manage my hectic days and moody personalities though. You should do the same," he recommended._

_"It might be easier if I had more time to sleep."_

_Adrian laughed softly, almost bashfully and apologetically. "I figured it'd be easier for us to get to know one another if we actually spent time together. It seems you prefer to spend your time elsewhere." He sat back as if letting the words sink in before speaking again. "I'm trying to make this work, Rose. And I hope you are as well."_

_The words struck her hard; guilt over pining for Dimitri when she'd vowed to give Adrian a chance was eating at her._

_"I'm sorry," she apologized again softly._

_Adrian nodded, acknowledging her apology and not another word was spoken about the subject through the rest of the forcibly cheerful dinner._

For the majority of the weekend Adrian led her through the city, surprising Rose by only pulling out his cell phone once before shutting it off completely.

"This weekend is about the two of us and no one else," he explained when she stared incredulously at the black screened phone.

He pointed out the many famous places of New York while sitting in the warmth of a town car he'd hired. Rose had imagined walking along with the hustle and bustle of the crowded streets of New York but it was nice all the same.

They stopped only twice, once for dinner and later for shopping.

"Anything you want, just name it," he offered. Being a girl with a great appreciation for clothes, she couldn't turn down such an offer. She went in and out of the finest stores New York had to offer picking and trying on outfits that she'd have to spend the rest of her life paying for if it weren't for Adrian.

"Perhaps it'd be easier if you had a bit of help," Adrian suggested when couldn't seem to settle on anything. Before she could say a word he signaled to a woman from the back of the store that brought out an arm full of bags and boxes.

"I had a feeling you'd have trouble making simple decisions so I already chose a few outfits for you ahead of time, ready and packaged to go," he explained.

She was both surprised and a little disappointed.

He grabbed a small box the store lady slid onto the counter. "Almost forgot this," he said fleetingly as if it was an after thought. It was a jewelry box, Rose could tell but she wasn't as eager to open it, as she should've been.

Rose suddenly wasn't having fun anymore.

The gifts, the clothes and jewelry, seemed meaningless somehow. It wasn't a grand gesture or even a caring one, the way Adrian and presented them to her. She didn't think she was asking for much. Just a small sign that he had genuine feelings for her.

She sulked a good majority of the day. It went unnoticed since Adrian's promise not to use his cell phone had ended a couple of hours before. They sat in the town car waiting in traffic on their way back to the hotel.

Rose sat on one end of the town car while Adrian texted sitting on the other, a hand casually on her thigh.

Rose never felt more alone and hurt...

_Hurt...no more hurting, _she thought, remembering Lissa's words. _Don't be sad anymore Rosie. No more crying. No more hurting._

and it was quiet...

...quiet enough that Rose could think for a while...

_"I can't wait to show him," Rose squealed skipping beside her mother. _

_She was squirming and hopping so much, her mother had trouble keeping up, Rose's little hand tugging her mother behind her up the path to their driveway. _

_"Rosie, honey, slow down!" her mother begged, her laughter outweighing the strain in her voice from having walked so far from the bookstore, back home. "Your father's not even home yet."_

_"I just can't wait to show him my books! Maybe he'll like 'em so much he'll read them to me the same way you do, mommy!"_

_She smiled up at her firey-haired mother who returned with a brief grin before her face sobered, her lips forming into a thin line. _

_"Rosie, remember daddy works hard to give us a good life and sometimes he doesn't like to be bothered," her mother warned. _

_Rose was a little upset. Her mother always said this when she wanted to eagerly show her dad something that she hoped would grab his attention enough that he'd spend time with her the way her mother did. _

_"You said daddy would spend more time with us...with me."_

_"I know," her mother sighed. "And he will...just give it some time. Understand?"_

_She nodded to please her mother._

_She didn't want to upset her or get both of them into trouble by making her father angry but Rose couldn't fight the eagerness building up inside her, ready to burst by the time her father arrived home._

_She flipped through the many colorful books she'd bought and picked out with her mother, ready to have the indiscernible letters on the page read to her. _

_She heard her father when he came home and waited patiently until he had time to settle while he spoke, loudly, to her mother downstairs. When their shouting voices faded Rose thought it was a good time to walk down and show him her books._

_Her father stood tall, in the kitchen, holding a glass in his hand with a copper drink. _

_Her mother always told her to never bother him when he had a glass in his hand and her warnings from earlier played in Rose's head but she forgot all the warnings, her excitement winning her over._

_"Daddy," she tugged on his pants' leg. "Look at the new books mommy bought for me," she pointed to the handful of books in her hand. _

_He looked down at her, glaring with his light brown eyes. He tipped the glass to his lips not saying anything for a while. _

_"Not now, Rosemarie." It was his warning tone, that he wasn't in one of his happy moods. Rose was persistent, hoping she could persuade him to read just of the books to her. _

_"But I waited all day for you. I thought we could read-"_

_"Janine!" he called. Rose's mother rushed into the room taking a hold of Rose immediately, trying to force her from the room._

_"But you said he might read to me!" she cried, tearing up. "I just want to read with Daddy-"_

_"Now's not the time, Rosie," her mother huffed. "Leave daddy alone. We'll spend some time together. You and me," she tried to reason. Rose yanked herself away from her mother hard enough that she knocked into her father, latching onto his leg, not wanting to let go._

_"No I want daddy! Please! You said we'd spend time together!"_

_"I don't want you! Go away Rosemarie! Janine, take her away," he order, pulling Rose away from him with such a force she knocked back into her mother, shielding her face in the warmth of her mother's sweater, hiding her tears._

That was the first time Rose felt truly hurt and unwanted. No amount of her mother's coddling and attempts to comfort her could make that pain go away.

She suddenly wondered, if her mother couldn't make her feel better back then, she was absolutely certain she wouldn't be comforted now.

* * *

_**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long update (school started again today). Also sorry for the non-Dimitri related chapter. They'll have a moment in the next chapter (maybe with enough encouraging reviews) and I'll clear up any confusing points in the story (in this chapter specifically). I just didn't want ot levae you guys hanging. Anyways I love the reviews and you gus are awesome. I'll update soon. :D**_


	35. Chapter 35: Dimitri

_**Dimitri: March**_

"I have good news," Ivan announced walking into Dimitri's office.

Dimitri looked up from the pile of patients' files in front of him. He would've been finished and enjoying the first amount of quiet he had all day if Rose had been there to help. Admittedly he'd been thinking about her recent absences all day. He hadn't seen her at work since the weekend after Valentine's Day and now it was late March.

_"Hello?" Dimitri asked, waiting for a response on the other end of his office phone receiver._

_There was a long extend breath, a trembling voice. _

_"Hey, Boss Man, it's me," Rose said sounding forcibly cheerful. "I won't be in today…again."_

_"I kind of got that when you didn't show up for work this morning. It's kind of bothering Ivan that you're not here for him to banter with."_

_Admittedly, Rose's absence was bothering Dimitri more than it could possible be bothering Ivan but he thought he'd keep that to himself._

_She laughed slightly on the other end, sincerely. "Well I'm sorry to disappoint him."_

_"Is everything alright?" Dimitri asked after a few heartbeats had passed. He could hear her shaky breathing on the other end of the phone. It was another long moment before she said anything._

_"I just haven't been feeling well."_

_"You haven't been coming to your job at a city clinic surrounded by doctors because you haven't been feeling well?" He asked incredulously. _

_She laughed, again, nervously on the other line. Dimitri could hear a lot of noise in the background. _

_"I didn't really think about the irony of the situation but yeah. I just need a few days to myself…to feel better. Then I'll be good as new, promise." _

_It sounded as if she were talking more to herself now than to Dimitri. _

_It was obvious she was lying. He didn't call her on it though. He wasn't going to ruin the harmony between them now over a hunch, an instinctive feeling. _

_"I hope to see you soon, Rose," he said before hanging up, spending the rest of the day thinking about the one woman he couldn't have. _

She called in every morning to say that she wasn't coming in that day but never elaborated on why. Normally, after more than a few days of missed work, Dimitri would've seen it as good cause to fire her.

This was Rose though. He didn't peg her as the type to skip work because she just didn't feel like it and she'd been working pretty hard the last few weeks. After all of the drama he felt like she deserved a little time off. He was surprised she didn't quit before when things were awkward and tension filled. He couldn't help worrying or being curious though.

"You were finally able to get into that Kamasutra position that you couldn't get into before," Dimitri guessed.

"I'm still working on that actually. Mia suggested doing yoga with her later," he muttered matter-of-factly to himself.

Dimitri's brows rose, surprised and amused.

"Evan has finally torn himself away from his new girl long enough to have a few drinks with us," Ivan said excitedly ignoring Dimitri's expression. "He's turned into such a lovey dovey softy since he met that girl."

Dimitri laughed. "Says the man who is planning on doing yoga to please his girlfriend."

"We prefer to call each other bed buddies," Ivan corrected. "I'll ignore your sour, sarcastic attitude since you're suffering from a chronic case of heartache."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been in a dry and sullen mood and it's pretty obvious to me that you've always been this way and it probably doesn't help that Rose hasn't been around lately," he pointed out almost smug, leaning against the back of one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Dimitri cleared his throat uncomfortably returning his attention back to his work.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've been your best friend since we were in diapers together, since the womb if we want to be specific. So I think I know you by now. You're just as head over heels as Evan is. Hell, I'll even admit that I'm starting to…" The rest of the sentence trailed off into indiscernible mumbles.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Dimitri asked amused.

"I might be…in…I-in." Ivan looked like he was having trouble breathing and was about to puke.

"Love with your bed buddy?" Dimitri finished guessing.

"Just like you're in love with Rose," Ivan through back avoiding Dimitri's guess. He breathed deeply before collapsing in the chair. "What happened to us, man? It's like these women have enchanted us. I blame you."

"What did I do?" Dimitri laughed.

"If you hadn't slept with Rose, I wouldn't have met Mia and we wouldn't be involved in all of this lovey dovey crap," he complained.

"That makes no sense. You met Mia at the bar before you even met Rose," Dimitri reasoned.

"But I probably wouldn't have gone out with her if I hadn't met her again at Tasha's dinner party when she came with Rose."  
"You're right. You would've slept with everyone else in the bar before eventually making your way to Mia," Dimitri said dryly.

"True," Ivan agreed. "But…despite all of these weird…feelings," he said sounding disgusted. "I'm glad I met Mia."

"Damn feelings," Dimitri muttered finishing up the file he'd been working on before moving to the next one.

"You can hate your emotions as much as I do…. or did, I guess, but they're there, man, and you can't deny it. You love her and you should be out there fighting for her instead of sitting her moping about Rose not being here."

It was almost unbelievable that these words were coming out of Ivan mouth of all people.

"You know, for all of your preaching, I don't see you out there declaring you love to Mia," Dimitri pointed out.

"I will…I just need a little alcohol to help me along. I've never done this before," he muttered, sounding nervous all over again, his usual air of confidence and cockiness completely gone. "So how about those drinks with Evan? I'm sure you could use a little something to help you along too."

Dimitri chuckled standing. "Yes to the drinks but not now. I'm going to go and see Rose."

Ivan sat dumfounded. "You're actually taking my advice?"

"You're right. I can't sit around waiting for things to fall into place. I have to make them happen." He pulled on his coat, grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

"Did you just say I was right?"

"Yeah and it scares the hell out of me, believe me."

"You know if you listened to me more often life would run a lot smoother."

"I stopped listening to you after you dared me to streak through the neighborhood when we were kids," Dimitri reminded him.

Ivan laughed to himself remembering before his expression softened into a serious one. "So this is the part of your romantic comedy movie where you go fight for your girl," Ivan pointed out referencing to a conversation they'd had before. "I wish you luck, man. Go get her."

That was exactly what Dimitri intended to do.

Suddenly everything involving Tasha and even Dimitri didn't matter. Ivan's words had really stuck with him and he was grateful for his friend to make him realize that this wasn't the life he wanted for himself where he felt unhappy most of the time. He liked the moments when he was happy and all of those moments involved everyone except for the woman it seemed he was planning on spending the rest of his life with.

He had tried imagining himself with Tasha and he just couldn't picture it.

The fact that he couldn't see it before, that he couldn't imagine them together had never bothered him before it was pointed out to him.

_"I see you have a wedding ring on your finger," Dimitri's patient, and older woman who was suffering from chronic headaches, noted. _

_Dimitri was wearing a ring Tasha had asked him to pick out after nagging him a bit about not helping with the wedding plans and try on and he hadn't taken it off yet. _

_Dimitri finished checking her pulse, noting it on his file, before speaking. "Yes," he said simply. "I'm engaged."_

_"You don't sound very happy about it," the elder woman said. "Who's the lucky lady?"_

_Dimitri usually didn't spend his work time thinking about Tasha and he really didn't want to talk about it now but he wasn't going to be rude. It wasn't part of his new, good demeanor. _

_"An old family friend from high school."_

_"Ah high school sweetheart. I met my husband in high school. We were married for fifty years before he passed on and not once have I ever had such a solemn expression on my face when I mentioned him, even now, as you do. You don't really love her do you?"_

_The woman's directness reminded him so much of Rose he couldn't help smiling a bit. _

_"I've hit it right on the head, haven't I? There's someone else?" The woman asked a bit too excitedly. _

_A few moments passed before he answered. "Yes there is someone else," he said honestly._

_"Then why are you not with her?"_

_"It's not that easy." He grabbed a pad to write down a prescription to help with her headaches. _

_"The woman you plan to marry, do you love her?"_

_Simple answer that came quickly to his mind after a feeling of disgust: "No."_

_"But you love this other woman?"_

_Simple answer that came quick to his mind: "Yes, I do."_

_"Can you see yourself spending the rest of your days with her, countless hours, some not perfect but most of them splendid?"_

_Dimitri leaned back in his chair for a moment. He found it amazing how often people seemed to be interested in his personal life. He liked it though, it amused him that everyone had an input or opinion on what it was he should do even though he wasn't sure what he should do._

_He thought for a few moments, some of the longest moments of his life where memories of Tasha, all of the years he's known her, played through his head. _

_But that was it._

_They were just memories and not very fond or good ones. _

_Most of them involved short conversations that were too insignificant to remember. Even the fleeting memories or any thoughts he had pertaining to her were brief and interrupted but new memories, fresh ones of the longhaired beauty he couldn't seem to keep off his mind and out of his head. _

_It made him curious what it was exactly he liked so much about Rose. _

_She was beautiful…almost too beautiful beyond words. She was funny and anyone who could make Dimitri laugh had to be special. Most of all she talked to him and listened. Admittedly they didn't know each other for very long, a few months now, but they'd had a few good times that seemed to overshadow the bad ones._

_Dimitri could see himself, imagined himself feeling as happy as he had been the last few weeks just thinking about her. _

_There was nothing like that when he thought of Tasha. _

_It suddenly became clear to him after all of this time he felt like smacking himself on the head or banging it against a brick wall. Life was more than a successful career and a trophy wife. _

_Life is love. Giving love and being loved. _

_And he didn't want to miss out on life anymore than he already had. _

_"Yes, I can see myself with her."_

_He spoke softly to himself almost. The woman didn't seem to care. She understood. She nodded, the laugh lines around her beaming face pulled when she smiled. _

Dimitri pulled his car in front of Rose's house feeling anxious. On his way over, after reflecting on the faults in his life, he made a list. He had to manage all of this anxiety and feelings somehow.

He had to finish the paperwork for today.

_Did that, _he noted climbing out of his GMC truck.

He was going to meet Ivan and Evan for drinks later.

_I'll need a drink after this I'm sure, _he mentally sighed.

He had to end things with Tasha.

_The scariest thing on this list but it needs to be done and is long overdue, _he thought smiling inwardly at the thought of being free from her.

_Schedule in some time to punch Adrian's arrogant face in without damaging the doctor hands, _he noted also smiling.

But most importantly, the top priority was…

I have to see Rose.

Without another thought, only the rapid pattern of his beating heart, irregular in usual circumstances but regular given _these _circumstances, he moved for the front door.

He knocked twice, rapidly and probably a little too loud and excited for this time of night. It was almost past ten. He suddenly had a fear that Rose wasn't home. He looked around to the driveway but spotted the gleaming shine of the town car directly across the street from the house, the driver-sitting stiff and still staring at the house, at Dimitri.

Dimitri's fear of Rose not being home disappeared with the sound of footsteps coming toward the door.

The door opened and Lissa stood across from Dimitri, her expression surprised.

"Dimitri?"

"Hi, Lissa. How are you?" The pleasantries and politeness came naturally to Dimitri.

"Tired," she said a little rudely but Dimitri couldn't blame her, it was pretty late. He wasn't usually so impulsive and he thought about calling first but figured it was best to see Rose in person for something as big and serious as this. "You're here to see Rose?"

"Yes, actually. I'm sorry, I know it's late but I'd like to talk to her."

She leaned against the doorway, arms folded over her chest. "You'll have to talk pretty loudly. She'd not here."

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "Do you know when she'll be back?"

"No time soon," she sighed. She tucked her long platinum strands behind her airs, a similar habit Rose had. "She's been staying with Adrian."

Lissa sounded as happy about the situation as Dimitri felt, devastated.

"When did this happen? How long?" He was surprised his words were coming out so clearly when he felt so broken inside.

"A few days ago, about a week. We had this huge fight about…about pretty much everything actually and I came home from work one day and she was gone. She left a note saying she was staying with Adrian…said it was better this way but…"

"But what?" Dimitri asked sounding hopeful.

Lissa shook her head. "I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right. She's been weird…acting weirder than usual these last few weeks. That was kind of what the fight was about."

She bent behind her to pick up a box with Rose's name on it that Dimitri hadn't notice before, along with the fact that Lissa was fully dressed, and started walking toward the town car across the street. The driver, a tall man, similar to Dimitri's height with a shaved head and dark glasses, got out and took the box from Liss sliding it into the back of the car with a few other boxes. He closed the door, gave a nod to Lissa who was already retreating back toward Dimitri, and a glare to Dimitri before climbing back inside the car and pulling away from the curb driving off.

Lissa walked past Dimitri again to grab a suitcase and shut the front door of the house. Before it close all of the way he noticed the house was practically empty except for the furniture. Everything else was packed into large boxes neatly shoved into the back of the house. A few of the boxes had dust on them and Dimitri wondered how long it was anyone had lived here since that night so long ago when he had dropped Rose off after their night at the pier.

Lissa started to walk her suitcase to her car in the driveway. Dimitri, the gentleman that he was suddenly and slowly becoming, grabbed the suitcase and helps her to her car.

Lissa gave him a nod of thanks, slamming the trunk closed.

She moved to the driver side of the car but stopped and turned to face him, looking at Dimitri expectantly and curiously.

"Why did you come, to see Rose?"

Dimitri opened his mouth to explain everything but suddenly the words couldn't come out. He was suddenly as unsure of everything as he had been before.

"You're not as big of a jerk as I thought you were, are you?" Lissa asked, surprising and confusing Dimitri.

"No, I guess not. You thought I was a jerk?"

"Actually, I think I used the words 'selfless, egotistical pig with no morals or consideration for women'," she told him. "It was before I met you, when you and Rose had that 'No strings attached' agreement going."

Dimitri shuddered inwardly remembering how cold and emotionless he had been at that time.

"I was wrong though. About you," she said staring up at him from her short height. She stood for a moment reading his face.

"Why do you say that?"

"You came here because you care about her, don't you?"

"Am I really that easy to read or has everyone suddenly become a fortune teller?" he asked sarcastically, running a hand through his hair.

"My cousin tried to tell me that there was something different with you, that you weren't as bad as I was making you out to be. I didn't see it before now, before I told you that Rose wasn't here. You care about her."

It wasn't a question but he nodded. "Yes I do. I feel a little weird now, though, seeing as she isn't here," he chuckled humorlessly.

"Go find her, then," she said simply as if it was that easy.

All of his courage had been put into this moment and it had kind of dimmed a little along with a bit of self-esteem.

She looked at the clock on her phone. "Well, maybe it should wait until tomorrow. It's kind of late and if she's still acting as weird as she was here then she needs the sleep but…you should go and talk to her tomorrow. Tell her and bring her home."

Dimitri was a little bothered that everyone seemed to know that he had to tell Rose how he felt but nodded.

"I will. Tomorrow then," he promised.

* * *

"I thought you bailed on us," Evan laughed throwing a dart across the bar. Dimitri strolled into the bar feeling as if weights had been placed on his feet. His happy demeanor from before was completely gone. He felt hollow and confused and whole bunch of other things that a few drinks would help sort out.

He sat himself beside Ivan on a barstool. "Leave him alone. He's one of us, once a man now a slightly less masculine man struck by love," Ivan teased toasting a drink before downing it. He motioned the bartender for two more. "So how did it go and leave nothing out?"

"Dude you sound like a chick," Evan laughed tossing another dart.

"I can't help it. All of this emotional crap has got me feeling feminine." Ivan turned to Dimitri agree expectantly. "So. How did it go?"

"She wasn't home," Dimitri said solemnly taking a drink before taking Ivan's as well.

"So call her," Evan suggested.

"No something like this needs to be said in person just like in the movies," Ivan said as if it should've been obvious. "You have a girlfriend, you should know."

"Still learning," Evan answered simply.

"I'm going to go see her tomorrow," Dimitri told them both.

"While you have a hang over after all of these shots," Ivan observed as Dimitri downed another. He grabbed the full drink out of his friend's other hand. "What's your problem?"

"She moved in with him," he explained, his words already slurring a bit.

"How do you know?" Ivan asked pushing the drinks further away.

"Lissa was at the house. She was moving the last of her stuff to Christian's place." Dimitri explained the weird night's events. By the time he'd finished he'd had a few more drinks and was laying face down on the bar.

"At least you finally came to your senses about Tasha," Evan said sitting on the other side of the face down Dimitri. "Now that she's not your fiancé anymore it feels a little less weird if I ask you how the sex was with such an uptight chick and if you can pass my number along to her."

Dimitri spoke, his words muffled by the bar top. "Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Our relationship is based on being open."

"In other words your girlfriend is allowed to sleep with other men and has a place to stay when she comes home," Ivan filled in smiling.

"Exactly and the same applies to me," Evan grinned similar to his brother.

"Oh really? You're allowed to sleep with other men too?" Ivan joked which earned him a sock to the arm. "Wait a minute," he said stopping his brother from adding another punch. "You're allowed to sleep around and your first choice is Tasha. Dude, aim higher," he chuckled. "No offence man," he apologized to Dimitri patting his back. "I k now your wounds are still fresh and you need a moment to deal with your future breakup with Tasha." They sat silent for five seconds. "Okay moment over, all healed. So what are you going do when you see Rose? Please tell me it starts with your fist attached to Adrian's face?" he asked hopeful.

"Maybe your foot to his-"

"Even better," Ivan said high fiving his brother over Dimitri's head.

"Haven't really thought about it," Dimitri mumbled sitting up. The alcohol was hitting him hard. He locked his fingers in his hair that suddenly seemed too long and in the way and sighed. Even drunk he felt weird talking about something so personal even to his closest friends.

"Keep it simple," Evan suggested. "'We slept together, I was a bad guy, I'm sorry, you're hot and I have the hots for you so let's have sex and see where this goes,'" Evan suggested. "That's how I'd do it. _I'll_ do it if you don't want to."

"Story of your life, huh bro?" Ivan asked. "Evan's right, though. Not with those words exactly, you can do better than that but you should keep it simple. Don't overwhelm her. If she's acting as bizarre as Lissa says she is then you want to keep it straightforward, uncomplicated."

"What do you think Lissa meant about Rose acting weird anyway?" Evan asked.

"Something to do with Ivashkov no doubt," Dimitri muttered signaling the bartender for a drink. "Does your girlfriend ever work here? It would make it a hell of a lot easier to get a drink," he mumbled.

"She likes her days off," Ivan said almost protectively. "She doesn't like to work hard on certain days."

"Which is when?" Evan asked.

"Only a days that end in 'y'."

"I last saw Rose on a day that ends in 'y'," Dimitri mumbled again, finishing his drink halfway. He was starting to feel a little emotional. "I'm starting to hate the letter why," he rambled. "Adrian has a 'y' in it, doesn't it? Or Ivashkov?"

Ivan and Evan both gave him a stare that was mix full of amusement, worry, and concern.

"Wait a minute? 'Ivashkov'? Adrian Ivashkov?" Evan asked.

"Who did you think we were talking about?" Ivan asked irritated.

"I just thought there were a lot of douche bags named Adrian out there. We're talking about the same Adrian Ivashkov from college? The one with the major temperament issues?"

Both Ivan and Dimitri sat up, surprised and confused while Evan downed his drink and laughed. He glanced at the two surprised faces staring back at him.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No more than usual," Ivan muttered. "What do you mean 'major temperament issues'?"

"You guys don't remember that night, the party? I guess you wouldn't since you two were wasted."

"How were we wasted at a party and you weren't?" Ivan asked in disbelief.

"I decided to stay sober for some chick I was planning on hooking up with later that night. I remember because it was that extremely hot chick I chased around campus for like an entire year, but anyways…"

Maybe it was Evan's words, his spontaneous emotions that had been warring inside him all day, the alcohol or a mixture of all of them but Dimitri was starting to remember.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Everything is starting to unravel at this point (in case it isn't obvious). You guys are awesome! **_


	36. Chapter 36: Rose

_**Rose: February to March**_

Rose settled herself on the edge of the large bed.

It was probably the biggest bed she'd ever seen but its beauty wasn't enough to distract her from everything that was going on, the dream she felt like she was living in, the life that wasn't hers.

None of the nice, shiny objects Adrian's home was decorated and filled with could distract her. If anything, it made her think of Adrian even more.

_"Something Wrong?"_

_Rose looked away from the view of the city skyline long enough to turn around and face Adrian who was standing closely behind her._

_"Why do you ask?" _

_The weekend wasn't what she'd expected. She wasn't in the happy mood she'd been in when she'd first arrived. It had disappeared the moment Adrian's controlling side appeared. She wished sh didn't agree to go on this trip and thought about what it might have been like if she'd been with-_

_"You've been quiet and ignoring me for the last two days. I'm not a doctor but I can tell when something is wrong."_

_"It's kind of hard to ignore someone who doesn't even realize I'm here," she told him turning back toward the city view. It was cold out but she didn't want to have to push past Adrian to head back inside. _

_"What the hell are you talking about Rose?" He had his exasperated tone in his voice. "I know you're here. We've spent the entire weekend together."_

_"You don't appreciate that I'm here though. Whenever I try to talk to you or to do something fun you try to silence me by buying me clothes I don't need, that I'm more than capable of picking out myself by the way. You spend all of your time on your phone. Why are you even with me?"_

_She'd turned to face him now. He stood expressionless. She waited for him to answer, to give her some reasons why she'd be fighting and trying so hard to make her relationship with Adrian work when there was another perfectly good man that already wanted her._

_"I wish I'd never come on this trip or called you after that first disaster date. I wish I would've stayed with-" she started once he didn't answer._

_"With Dimitri?" He finished for her. He stood erect now, his expressionless face shifting in one of smug amusement. "Is that what you were going to say?" He took a step toward her making her stumble a bit back. "He doesn't want you, Rose. To be frank, I wasn't sure why I want you either. You have nothing exceptional about yourself except your looks and even that..." he let his words trail off into laughter before going on. "I thought I'd give you a chance, to help you become a better person worthy of someone like me even, a man of my stature and this is how you repay me? By wishing to go back to your whore like ways?"_

_Rose's heart was beating out of her chest. Her back was pressed against the patio railing, Adrian standing toe to toe with her, heat radiating off his body. He'd ranted like this before. It happened at weird times when Rose did something small to upset Adrian like wearing an outfit he didn't like or approve of, putting a cup or dish in the cabinet crookedly when she visited, or just knocking something over. His ranting was unsurprising, what scared her wasn't his anger so much as where they were arguing._

_The railing of the patio pressed further into her back as he forced her as far back as she could go, his hands digging into the blades of her shoulders. She could feel the skin break where his nails dug in, warm rivulets of blood running down her bare arm. _

_"You should be thanking me. I was doing you a favor. I was doing Tasha a favor and this is how I am repaid? I don't think so."_

_Rose's thoughts hung on Tasha's name for a brief moment before she realized Adrian was leaning her over the patio railing._

_"Stop! Stop!"_

_"Do you plan on leaving? Are you going to leave for that son of a bitch Belikov!?" He shouted. _

_Rose hated that they were at the highest room of the hotel, the city traffic muffling any noise they were making. _

_"Are you?!"_

_"No, No I won't leave I promise!" She shouted._

_She was definitely scared. She wished someone anyone would come and help her, she wished she's never agreed to go out with Adrian, she wished she could just disappear from this moment where her worst nightmare were being lived._

_"Good," Adrian huffed smiling. "Smart choice."_

_She was trembling from his hold still on her arms. His laughter faded. "Get inside. I've had enough of all of this."_

_His chest was rising and falling as quickly as hers was._

_She quickly broke free from his grasp and moved toward the doorway back into the hotel room. She was shaking. She didn't like being scared any more than she liked being weak. She wanted to fight back and be strong but her fear was too great._

_Adrian came in behind her and shoved her along because she wasn't moving fast enough. She stumbled in the heels she was in landing on her knees. She stayed like that for a moment, a moment too long for Adrian who use his polished shoe to kick her in her side forcing her to turn over._

_She landed on her butt, her hair masking her face. _

_That kick knocked the wind out of her but also kicked a small amount of courage into her._

_"This was all because of Tasha?"_

_Adrian walked calm and smoothly as if nothing was wrong to the bar pouring himself a drink. _

_"You're surprised?" He chuckled sipping the copper drink. "I forgot you don't really know Tasha and Dimitri like I do. You should probably start doing background checks on the people you whore around with," he advised snidely. _

_She ignored his jab._

_"What is this? Some kind of sick game she's playing?"  
"Of course it is. That's the way it always is with Tasha and I thought this time would be different but I can see it's going to be the same, just like all the others. I'm sick of it. I don't see what's so unique about you that she'd go to such lengths to make your life a living hell but whatever it is she won't have to worry about it anymore."_

_"Meaning?" Rose asked sounding a bit like her old safe, her voice hoarse. _

_"Meaning this isn't going to be like before where she promises to finally come away with me, to be with me if I help her get rid of Dimitri's latest squeeze. I think I'll change things up a bit. I think I'll keep a consolation prize. Maybe that'll get a rise out of her."_

_He finished his drink slamming the glass against the wall. Rose wondered if this was his anger or the alcohol that she'd smelt on his breath while they'd been out on the patio. _

_"I'm not an object. You don't own me."_

_"If you truly believed that you'd have left by now," he told her calmly kneeling to her level on the floor. _

_He was right._

_She would've left._

_She moved to stand up and he shoved her back down. "It's too late for that."_

_He held her face firmly in his hands. "I can kind of see why Belikov was so attached to you. You're the weak, easy type with some sort of daddy issues that forces you into any man's waiting arms. Plus, it helps that you're gorgeous."_

_He ran a hand along the back of her bare thigh where the dress she was wearing slid up._

_She shuddered making a fearful sound in her throat._

_Adrian shushed her calmly, his lips inches from hers. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything. Tonight. I want us to both enjoy it when it _does _happen."_

_He snickers softly, brushing aside a lock of her hair, the strap to her dress, and kissing the side of her neck. Rose tingled from the uncomfortable situation. Her body inched from his once he stood. Rose herself started to stand but Adrian was quick for someone who was borderline drunk and his hand snapped so quickly across her face it took a while for the sting to set in. She held her palm to her cheek, tears brimming her eyes. _

_"Just in case you consider leaving," he warned forcing a rough kiss to her lips before walking away._

_It had all happened so quickly and unexpectedly. There were signs Adrian wasn't all he seemed to be and it wasn't as if he was hiding it. He was very open with how controlling he was from the first time they went out. Rose should've seen this coming, anticipated it and left a long time ago._

_She'd always had bad timing though._

_The morning after it felt as if her world was tilting, Adrian acted as if nothing had happened with only a few warning glares to remind Rose to stay in line and not get any ideas about leaving or asking anyone for help while they walked through he crowded lobby or down in the street for the car to take them home._

_She wished someone, anyone...a familiar doctor, a friend, a cousin, would magically appear and help her, take her away but no one came._

_She didn't know what to feel. She couldn't get over the fact that all of this was happening. For the entire quiet ride and fly home she was numb._

_When they'd landed back home Adrian immediately ordered Stan to drive them to Rose's house._

_She was confused. She hadn't really thought about what would happen once they're arrived home. She worried she'd never see Lissa again, even if she wasn't speaking to her, or Mia...or Dimitri. _

_The car pulled in front of her house and Stan opened her side of the door. She climb out, resisting the urge to bolt. Her bags were placed on the side-walk and Stan climb into the car as Adrian climbed out, tucking his phone into his coat pocket. Rose guessed that the been in constant contact with was Tasha. Her hat woman only increased._

_He'd been true to his word and hadn't touched her for the rest of the evening until now when he placed his hands on her shoulders firmly intentionally where his nails had dug in before. _

_He kissed either side of her cheek and she recoiled pulling away stiffly. _

_He smiled down at her. "I have some business to take care of but we'll get together soon," he promised back toward his car again._

_"How do you know?" she croaked from not using her voice in a while. She hadn't spoken a word or made a sound except for the weep that escaped her lips when she started covering up the bruise left on her cheek with makeup before leaving that morning. _

_"How do I know what precious?" he asked smugly._

_"How do you know I won't tell?"_

_He laughed to himself climbing into the car and rolled down the window._

_"I've had a background search done on you. You won't," he said confidently. "Just to assure that you don't though, I'll have a few eyes to keep watch over you," he said as Stan started the car and drove off._

_Rose grabbed her bags after standing frozen on the sidewalk for a while and headed toward the house wondering what a background check had to do anything. _

_"Nice trip?" Lissa greeted once she came in and found Rose in the kitchen. Rose was so shaky and in her own head that she didn't realize these were the first words Lissa had said to her in a while. _

_When Rose didn't answer Lissa moved to stand in front of her cousin holding her mug of coffee. Without looking up at her she said, "Look, Rosie, I know I haven't been the best cousin the last few weeks, not to mention Mia ripped me a new one for being such a bitch and I feel awful for blaming you for the whole Christian thing. It's just...I love him so much...the affect he has on me when we're separated...I was just angry about the Jill thing and I've been pretty hard on you lately about...well about everything and I'm sorry Rosie. Do you forgive me?" She finished, looking up at Rose._

_Rose sat quiet, holding her mug cupped in her hands staring down into the warm liquid. _

_"Rose?" Lissa asked worriedly now. "Are you made at me because I was mad at you for so long? I guess you have a right to be but then I guess my news isn't going to help things."_

_Rose shook herself out of her reverie to pay long enough attention to Lissa._

_"What news?" she mumbled. _

_"I'm moving in with Christian."_

_This was like being hit all over again. She was losing her cousin. She knew this day was going to come sometime she just didn't think it would be so soon, not when she needed her most. _

_She just nodded, not feeling up to telling Lissa everything she was feeling. She was too tired. _

_"That's great Liss," she congratulated plastering a smile on her face, something she learned by being with Adrian. She wasn't going to dampen her cousin's good news, the first bit of good for their little family. Rose had felt like she'd screwed up a lot lately, especially things involving her cousin, she'd let her down._

_She wasn't going to ruin the one good thing in her life. _

_She stood and wrapped her arms around her taller cousin's shoulder's, giving her one quick squeeze before retreating to her bedroom. _

_"Rose? Are you okay?" Lissa asked as Rose started up the stairs. _

_Rose stopped on the steps. Now would've been a good time to tell everything._

_"I'm fine. Jetlag." It wasn't a complete lie._

_"Not use to being swept off your feet?" _

_"Guess not," Rose faked a smile again, reliving the moment she'd been shoved to the ground. _

_"Well I'm going to work and then I'm going over to christian's to move his stuff out of the closest so my shoes will fit," she laughed almost clapping excitedly. She stopped on her way out the door, turning to face Rose who had slumped onto the bottom stair, her face held in her hands. "Are you sure you're okay? With all of this?" Lissa asked again taking in her cousin's fallen form._

_Rose nodded vehemently. "Fine. This is a good ting Liss. We're doing everything we said we'd do after high school. We're moving on and living."_

One of us at least, _she couldn't help thinking. _

_"Yeah, you're right. This is good." Satisfied enough by Rose's opinion she started pulling on her coat, ready to leave. "And Rose?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"You look pretty without all of the makeup. Don't hide your beauty," she complimented before closing the door behind her. _

That's not the only thing I'm trying to hide,_ she thought as she listened to Lissa's car retreat in the driveway. _

_She headed to her bedroom laying back on the bed, exhausted. _

_She curled into a tight ball and drifted asleep. A bunch of random thoughts jumped through her head as she laid there. The more prominent thoughts were to remember to call in sick to work, she knew she wasn't going to be able to fake a smile throughout the day. She thought about proving Adrian wrong and telling somebody, Dimitri, about everything._

_As soon as the thought appeared though her stomach dropped with fear and she shook the thought away. _

_The more prominent thought in her head involved Adrian's words about doing a background check on her family and being certain she wouldn't run._

_And then she thought about her background, her immediately family and she remembered and realized why Adrian was so confident that she wouldn't tell anyone or do anything. _

_She'd lived through similar instances before and she hadn't fought back then...and she wasn't going to now. _

_Through the next few days Rose was in and out of sleep, ignoring Mia's phone calls, peeking out the window once, spotting Stan sitting in the town car across the street, Adrian had been true to his word. She called in to say she wouldn't be at work that day, even talking to Dimitri once on the phone and the sound of his voice on the other end warmed the cold fear that was running through her body constantly and never going away._

_And just as quickly the warmth disappeared when her phone showed Adrian was calling on the other end. _

_He stopped by throughout the week, visiting conveniently when Lissa wasn't home. He picked Rose up to go out for one of their fancy dinners where Rose sat petrified and silent listening to Adrian talk about his day._

_Afterwards he'd take her to his apartment for a while where he'd run his mouth along skin to see how she'd react, to see if it would be the night she'd sleep with him before taking her home. _

_She worried how long it would be before he decided he couldn't wait anymore. _

_He hit her a few times. _

_It would happen quickly, while they were out and Rose would be too quiet or she'd look the wrong way or wasn't paying attention. The worst of it came on the few times she did speak up and dared to argue back. A couple of times it happened in public but nowhere anyone could see. It was a quick yank to the arm, a slap across the face and then they'd go on as if nothing happened._

_Rose had what looked and felt like a permanent bruise on her arm. _

_Liss was almost never home and the few times she crossed paths with Adrian they were fleeting and brief. _

_The last time she came across Adrian was the night of the fight. _

_Adrian had just left, saying it would make it easier for them both if Rose moved in with him. _

_"That way you won't feel so guilty for leaving her here by herself," he explained to Lissa. Rose had to admit that to anyone who didn't know the real Adrian he sounded persuasive and convincing._

_Lissa glared at him though across the diningroom table questioningly. It was obvious she'd been noticing a change in Rose and she constantly asked what was wrong but it usually erupted in a small argument and with Rose retreating to her room ignoring her cousin's attempts to help._

_Rose wondered if her cousin was suspicious about Adrian but figured if she was she would've said something._

_"You're going to move out, Rosie?"_

_She glanced at Adrian beside her who squeezed her hand too tightly beneath the table. _

_"I guess so," she mumbled._

_"Are you sure-" Lissa started to ask when Adrian cut her off by forcing his chair back standing to leave._

_"Good then it's settled."_

_Rose didn't really think he needed Lissa's permission to move Rose to his condo. He was showing off, proving his persuasiveness, showing Rose how much and how easily he controlled her life. _

_"I'll send Stan over sometime this week." With that he kissed Rose on the cheek, gripping the upper part of her arm, out of sight of Lissa who was staring at them from across the table, and left. _

_"You don't sound sure of yourself, Rosie," Lissa said moving beside her cousin. _

_She patted her the arm where the permanent bruise was and Rose flinched away standing. _

_"I'm fine, Liss. Just stop!"_

_"What the hell is going on with you lately? Ever since you went on that trip with Adrian you've been acting so weird. You haven't been eating, you sleep all day, you don't go to work. You're falling into the same habits as before."_

_Rose clasped her hands over her ears standing. Her chair fell back with a loud force. "Just stop! You don't know anything, okay! Just back off."_

_"What did I do to upset you? I'm just trying to help or understand!" Lissa also stood moving toward her cousin. "Is it about the moving? Is everything moving so quickly because that's how I feel sometimes but it's not like we're never going to see each other again," she tried to comfort. _

_Rose flinched again under her touch moving back toward her room._

_"You keep running away why don't you just talk to me?"_

_"Because it's not that easy!"_

_"What isn't?"_

_Rose was quiet again shoving her hair away from her face. "You wouldn't understand. You didn't understand before," she muttered. _

_"What are you talking about?" Liss was as flustered and frustrated as her cousin, Rose could see. She couldn't blame her. "You know what, I can't do anything to help you if you won't talk to me. I thought we were closer than this-"_

_"Really, L? You were thinking that when you were practically ignoring me for the last month!? I find that hard to believe. You know what, Liss, I'm not the only one that has screwed up lately. You haven't been your usual perfect self lately either. Maybe it's better that we're separating cause I can't take it anymore, being the second best, living in your shadow. No more you or Christian or the problems I've been apologizing for and trying to fix and take care of that come along with you and Christian. I'm done!"_

_Rose had snapped. _

_Everything had built up and she snapped. _

_Lissa stood silent, stunned, stiff. _

_"Glad to know how you really feel," she murmured. She started toward her own room, taking Rose's role as the runaway. She turned to face Rose. "You know what, despite this little rant of yours, I know there's something else that's going on but if you don't trust me enough to tell me then I don't know what I can do for you."_

_They hadn't spoken since. _

_The next day Lissa started moving more of her stuff over to Christians and Stan conveniently appeared to start helping Rose move. _

_The day after that she was moved into Adrian's, the most frightening day of her life. _

And here she was. She'd lost count of how long she'd been there. She'd even considering not calling into work anymore but that was the one hope that she might have a life after this that she held on to.

She felt different.

She was tired, exhausted, sad...lonely.

She wished she was with Lissa.

She sat, staring at her unfamiliar reflection in the mirror. She still looked the same, her long hair brushed neatly over her shoulders and the tan cream color of exposed skin that the long camisole she wore couldn't hide. What was different was her eye. They weren't the calm brown she was use to staring at.

They were gleaming with borderline tears as they had been the last few weeks.

She wished she was with Dimitri.

The doorbell rang.

She moved from her spot on the bed, toward the door.

Adrian had a certain rule about Rose opening the door or having guest over but no one ever came over so he really had nothing to fear.

Rose stepped cautiously toward the door.

"H-hello? Who is it?" She asked her voice cracking.

There was a loud exhaled from the other side of the door before a deep voice said, "It's Dimitri."

* * *

_**A/N: I may have moved things along a bit too quickly (and I hope I didn't) but I'm anxious to get to the major climax of this story and boy do I have plans! I also hope my timelines and flashbacks and present scenes weren't as confusing as this author's note and I hope they were accurate. Also, I'm glad that everyone guessed where this story was going because I didn't want things to be surprising/confusing and have abunch of angry fans mad at me. Anyways, the response was awesome and I truly love you guys! (And to those of you wishing you have Jedi powers, I often wish the same thing when Reading an amazing story! XD)**_


	37. Chapter 37: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"_Your girlfriend left you for another guy and you don't want to go to the biggest party of the year, our last year before med school, to alleviate your sorrows?" Ivan asked, as Dimitri was finishing up the last of his packing. _

_He was more than ready to finally leave the four-year college he felt confined to in this small town and move on to bigger and better things like a med school in the city. _

"_First of all, I don't have any 'sorrows' to alleviate. You know I don't really date anyone-"_

"_Part of your rules of keeping women and your emotions at bay," Ivan interrupted rifling through one of Dimitri's boxes. _

"_Exactly. Avery was just a fling, a meaningless fling. I think I'm more bothered by the fact that she decided to go for Ivashkov of all people. At least she saved me the trouble of ending things," Dimitri said gratefully, folding a few more of his clothes into boxes. He remembered how angry Tasha had become when Dimitri pointed out that she was growing too clingy. The last time he'd seen her since she'd had a sort of outburst after seeing Dimitri and Avery together and a few days later when she seemed eerily calm enough but it wasn't bothering him too much. _

"_Then come to this party with me where you can let out your annoyance over Ivashkov-"_

"_I'm not so annoyed by him that I'd put so much effort into telling him."_

_Dimitri had hated Adrian Ivashkov from day one. It seemed everything he did, Adrian tried to one up him. _

"_It's the last party before everyone goes their separate ways. I heard a rumor yesterday that scared the crap out of me."_

"_What was it?" Dimitri asked, interested about what could scare his fearless, risk taker friend who had spent the first year of college in everyone's bed but his own._

"_That they don't party like this in med school," Ivan shuddered. Dimitri laughed at the genuine fear in his friend's eyes. _

"_That's probably a good thing. I don't think they want a bunch of med students practicing and operating on people stoned and hung over."_

"_They only want the sex crazed ones?"_

"_They accepted you didn't they," Dimitri teased earning him a hard shove from his friend. _

"_This could be our last hurrah before we join the other dull douche bags in the real world. Do it for me, your best friend since diapers, the womb even?"_

_Ivan was always pulling the guilt card. Dimitri rolled his eyes used to it by now._

"_The last time I did something for you, a very important part of my anatomy was almost permanently glued to-"_

"_Forgive and forget. That's what close friends do," Ivan shrugged interrupting._

"_Close friends also let other close friends finish packing," Dimitri retorted taping up the last of his boxes. _

"_Friends don't let friends drive drunk and since I plan on drinking it is your duty as best friend to not let me drive drunk and you be the designated driver," Ivan said smugly tossing Dimitri his car keys._

"_Isn't your brother going?"  
"Evan The human keg? You want him to be my designated driver?"_

"_Consider it brotherly bonding time."_

"_Brother's don't need that much bonding. Although he does drive better than you, even when drunk." Dimitri ignored the comment. "He's not drinking tonight, though. He says he plans on chasing that cheerleader chick all night. She's his last goal before the school year ends," Ivan explained._

"_I'm glad you two set such high goals for your selves," Dimitri said dryly. _

"_Not everyone is like you, Dimitri. We go to college to enjoy the last few years of young, care free youthful lives. We're not trying to run away from a nightmarish home." _

_Ivan was being serious now. Dimitri felt his muscles clinch. He wished Ivan wouldn't bring all of the history up. He wanted to keep everything in the past, pack up, leave everything behind and move on._

"_You're playing that card?" Dimitri asked, the slightest bit of irritation in his voice._

"_I'm not trying to bring all of that crap up again, honest. I'm just trying to get my closest friend out for one night of crazy wild stupid fun before we go off into that ugly, scary, boring thing called the real world," Ivan answered, his voice somber. _

_There was a heavy silence between the two young men. _

_Dimitri had to admit that he'd miss the place he called home for the last four years, the small apartment he and Ivan shared near campus. He realized Ivan was right, that they might not have any chance soon to just have simple fun. _

"_You're wearing your 'Ivan is right and I'm going to regret doing this' face which tells me we're going!" He shouted, arms in the air smiling._

"_I'm going to regret this," Dimitri muttered and Ivan laughed at the fact that he was able to read his friend so easily. He rifled through one of the boxes Dimitri's clothes were in and tossed one of his long-sleeved black shirts to him. _

"_You pick out my wardrobe now? I think we've been getting to close these last three years."_

"_You tend to get laid more often when you wear that shirt and you need a few good lays. You're more moody than usual. And we haven't been any closer than usual," Ivan said searching for his own shirt to wear._

"_You were sitting on the kitchen counter yesterday eating a bowl of cereal naked like it was nothing!" Dimitri exclaimed. "You don't even bother with the bathroom door anymore or the bedroom door for that matter and the last thing I want to see is you and two other girls tangled in the world's most difficult position. I still have nightmares," he shuddered._

_Ivan just laughed. _

_By the time the first hour at the university's biggest party of the year had passed, Dimitri knew three things for sure: he would've regretted not coming to say good-bye to the friends he'd made, some that he's known all of his life and grew up in the same small town he did, and Ivan's argument about Dimitri being the designated driver was pointless because he was drunk._

_It didn't really matter much since everyone else was too. _

_He managed it better than Ivan did though. His friend was doing the robot to a Good Charlotte song on top of a very unsteady looking coffee table with a lampshade on his head, a bra strapped across his shirtless chest (the shirt was soaked in the wet t-shirt contest Ivan participated in when they'd first arrived), two girls and a guy on all sides of him, and the words 'I feel pretty' written on his back in marker. _

_Dimitri laughed, standing on the opposite side of the room, avoiding Ivan's drunken gaze incase he decided he wanted to try and coax Dimitri up on the make shift stage. _

"_I am ashamed to call him my brother," Evan said standing beside him._

"_I'm ashamed we're the same species," Dimitri countered, leaning against the fireplace for support. _

"_What sucks is that, as stupid as he looks, it's almost guaranteed he'll end up with at least one of those girls tonight, maybe both and the guy, while I'm staying sober for a cheerleader without the guarantee of doing anyone but myself tonight."_

_Dimitri inched a bit away from Evan at that last comment. A wild risk taker, willing to try anything at least once like his brother, Dimitri didn't want Evan to get any ideas. _

_He glanced at Evan who was dressed pretty nicely, better than his usual Toga attire he wears to every party, for a party thrown by a bunch of frat guys. "Who is this girl you're going to such great lengths to impress?" Dimitri asked, his words slurring a little. _

"_I've pointed her out to you. The world's most flexible cheerleader?" Evan looked at Dimitri to see if he knew who he was talking about and received a blank stare. _

_He lead him outside to point out a girl who was upside down in a handstand on top of another girl, her dress fallen down, exposing her underwear, or lack thereof, beneath. _

"_If I nail her," Evan sighed dreamily. "Greatest goal achieved."_

"_What is it with you and your brother and goals all of a sudden?" Dimitri asked, starting to stumble away from the group of people surrounding the wrong side up cheerleader._

"_Gives us a greater sense of accomplishment. We aim for the general goal of experiencing and/or witnessing something impossible at each party we go to so that we have an exciting story to tell later. Besides, wasn't your goal tonight to have fun?" Evan asked as they walked around the large frat house trying to find a way back inside. Dimitri was briefly distracted by the shouts of the people supposedly mud wrestling on the roof. _

_"Mission accomplished," Dimitri cheered holding up the empty red cup in his hand. Disappointed to find out his cup was empty he tossed it to the ground, determined to find an entrance to the frat house and find more._

_"I can see that," Evan laughed helping Dimitri lean against the back wall of the house. They were far from anyone else but could hear the blaring of the music and cheering and talking of the crowd coming from the patio doors of the house, as if they were in the middle of it all._

"_You know what I see?" Ivan asked appearing behind them, stumbling against Dimitri and his brother who managed to catch him before he fell, the lampshade still on his head. _

"_I see two drunken idiots," Evan said helping his brother stand._

_Dimitri and Ivan laughed at such a reprimanding tone coming from the university's biggest party animal._

"_I see Mr. Perfect wonderful star of the soccer team Adrian I-can-cough," Ivan laughed butchering Adrian's last name intentionally. _

_Both Dimitri and Evan looked around and spotted Adrian coming out of the frat house._

_Dimitri didn't want to give Adrian the satisfaction of seeing him at his worst and motioned for Ivan and Evan to step out of view. _

_They watched as Adrian practically stormed out of the house and realized he wasn't alone. _

_Dimitri spotted a girl with familiar wild curls trailing behind Adrian sounding very upset, her high-pitched voice barely heard above the music. Dimitri caught bits and pieces of the conversation._

"…_don't know what I did wrong. Why are you so pissed at me…"_

_Adrian sipped from a glass he was holding before speaking. Even from the distance and through his drunken fogginess Dimitri could tell that Adrian was yelling, shouting. Avery flinched with each step he took toward her. Dimitri noticed the patio doors to the frat house had closed when Avery came out of the house. Even if they'd been open the noise of the party would've drowned them out and people were too drunk to care or even notice the couple of three weeks fighting. _

_"I don't know why I want you either...nothing special about you except for the fact you're a good lay and even that…how you thank me for taking a chance on a whore like you…" Dimitri heard._

_Avery was sobbing, Dimitri could see her shoulder's shuddering. He was more amazed to find the aloof and almost equally emotionless girl crying than he was to see that Adrian wasn't as picture perfect as he seemed and was made out to be._

_The mixture of his surprise, curiosity, and unsteady drunkenness kept him from approaching the couple._

_She wanted him, now she had him, he thought coldly, figuring she'd gotten herself into such a predicament, she could get herself out._

_Just as Dimitri's last distracting thoughts disappeared, he focused on the couple in time to see Avery shout something back at Adrian before his hand lashed out and struck her._

_She fell in one quick motion, landing on her back, holding her hand to her face._

_She rolled over, crying no doubt, and attempted to stand and back away but Adrian was on her quicker than Dimitri could blink._

_He couldn't believe it._

_He suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. _

_Ivan and Evan seemed as surprised as Dimitri was and it took a moment for any of them to react to everything that was unfolding. _

"_I can't believe this. We have to go help her," Evan said moving to head towards where Avery lay and Adrian was retreating calmly, walking back into the party as if nothing had happened. _

"_Let's go," Ivan said trying to stand._

_He didn't make it. Instead he slowly sank lower to the ground before ending face down on the ground, the intensity of his drunkenness taking over. _

"_You guys go, I'll wait here," Ivan said, his voice muffled by the grass._

_Dimitri and Evan gave him a quick glance before moving toward Avery. The sight of seeing Adrian hit Avery sobered Dimitri enough. He seemed more focused than he would've ever been completely sober. _

_He could smell the alcohol in the air, rolling off of Avery from a few feet away before they reached her limp form covered almost head to toe in mud from the times she'd tried to get away. Up close she was already bloodied and swelling. She held her hand to her face, the other hand limp and blanketed with blood from blood long wounds on the backs of her hands. Dimitri realized she'd tried to shield herself form Adrian's blows. _

"_Avery, are you alright, can you hear me?"_

_She moaned a response looking up at Dimitri and Evan from her spot on the muddy grass._

_Evan moved to try and help her up. _

_Dimitri was too numb to do anything but stare reliving a few of his own childhood memories and still stunned by everything he saw. _

"_Is he gone?" she whispered frantically looking around._

_Dimitri looking toward the closed patio doors could tell that no one inside the house would've been able to see the argument through the darkly tinted windows of the closed patio doors and the music was even louder from this point. _

"_He's gone."_

_She glanced at Dimitri briefly, a look of regret and sorrow before her usual cold and distant expression masked over. "I need to get out of here," she slurred._

"_We'll help get you to the police station after we find Ivashkov and give him a taste of his own medicine," Evan said helping Avery up._

"_What!" she shrieked._

"_We don't take men abusing women very well around here," Evan explained misunderstanding her sudden fear and confusion. _

"_No, no, leave it alone…just leave it alone," she hiccupped and slurred standing. She adjusted the front of her clothes attempting to smooth out and clean up her appearance but only feeling the blood on her hands and face. _

_She didn't give Dimitri or Evan another glance before quickly striding, but occasionally stumbling, away, disappearing around the opposite side of the house. _

_"We should go and try to help her. We can't let her go off like that alone," Evan was saying. Dimitri wasn't really listening or responding, too wrapped up in his own jumbled thoughts._

_"Damn, it's a lot easier to smoke the green stuff than to get up from it. What'd I miss?" Ivan asked finally making his way over to Dimitri._

_Evan had gone off after Avery but came back saying she'd disappeared and he couldn't find her._

_"She moves pretty quickly for a beaten, drunk person," he huffed jogging back toward his friend and brother._

_"Is all this blood hers?" Ivan asked gesturing to the red keg cups that littered the grass around the few red droplets of blood that were Avery's._

_"Those are keg cups, stupid."_

_Ivan just nodded leaning against both Evan and Dimitri._

_They shared a look of disbelief and surprise, Ivan looking between the two of them_

_"What just happened? What'd I miss?" Ivan asked repeating his question before._

_"We completed one of our goals tonight, witness the impossible," Evan explained, referencing to the previous conversation he'd had with Dimitri earlier. He'd been joking then but everything seemed so serious now and didn't seem like it would get any better from this moment on._

_Dimitri realized that if this was the truth, reality, that everyone had a hidden dark side, then maybe it was better to stay the cold, distant man he was. He figured it was safer that way._

_When Ivan raised his brows in confusion, Dimitri elaborated._

_" We just saw the real Adrian Ivashkov."_

* * *

"I feel horrible," Ivan said after they'd recalled the night of the party.

"You should," Evan started. "You were so drunk, you're probably still hung over," he laughed.

"Not about that," Ivan said, despite the fact that he pushed his full glass of liquor a little away down the bar. Dimitri pushed his own drink away, alcohol suddenly very unappealing to the quickly sobering man. "That we forgot about that night and Avery. I saw her a couple of years ago at a bookstore and she gave me the world's dirtiest look. I thought she was a one night stand that I never called back or something."

"Wow," Evan exclaimed. "You've been inside a book store?"

Ivan socked his brother in the arm before settling back onto the bar stool. "Not funny, man. She's probably traumatized after that night."

"No she's fine," Evan said nonchalantly.

Dimitri and Ivan both looked at Evan expectantly as they had before remembering everything.

"And you know this because…"

"The following year when I graduated, I went to the end of the year party, at the same frat house by the way and it wasn't nearly as awesome as the party before but anyway, Avery was there. She said she barely remembered that night and figured she'd been one of the girls the frat guys had convinced to mud wrestle on the roof, to get over her break up with Adrian that she didn't remember, and that's how she go hurt," Evan rambled, explaining.

"Why did she give me the evil eye then, when I saw her?" Ivan asked.

"She doesn't like you."

Ivan scoffed surprised. "Everyone likes me. Especially women."

Dimitri and Evan shared a looked that said otherwise but Dimitri just shook his head. "Conversation for a different time," he said motioning for Evan to go on.

"She thought you were one of the frat boys that convinced her to mud wrestle on the roof."

"I probably was. That whole night is still a blur."

"No she was muddied because of that bastard Adrian," Dimitri mumbled. He was starting to feel the same way he'd felt that night, a sense of déjà vu and in a rush realization hit him.

Adrian…Rose…

Ivan, forever able to read his friend's face, came to the same realization, his eyes widening.

"Rose," he said aloud.

"I have to go," Dimitri said moving in one swift motion off of the bar stool and towards the door of the bar.

"Wait we'll go with you," Ivan had started to say but Dimitri was already gone.

* * *

Dimitri had never driven so fast in his life.

He also usually respected the no drinking and driving even with a slight buzz and the

no talking while driving law but he figured this was an emergency. All of his thoughts were concerning Rose right now. The law was the furthest thing from his mind.

Unless I kill Adrian, then I'm sure the law will always be on my mind, he thought searching the recent calls on his phone for the number he was looking for.

A small ounce of elation ran through his body at the first thing that seemed to be going right for him that day. He found the number and Lissa answered on the second ring, her voice uncertain.

"Hello?"

"Lissa it's me, Dimitri. I need your help." He recapped a bit about the night of the party and his own suspicions.

"Oh my god," she gasped on the other line. He could hear her panic through the phone. "Why didn't she tell me? I knew something was wrong?" she was gasping more to herself than to Dimitri still waiting on the other line.

"Lissa I need your help. Adrian sends his driver to pick up Rose's belongings from the house right?"

"Right," she breathed trying to calm down.

"Do you know where he takes her stuff? What's Adrian's address?"

"I-I-I don't know. Stan is the in between guy."

Dimitri's elation from before faded a bit with disappointment.

"But Adrian had sent Rose flowers and a few gifts once. Rose didn't really want them and I kept the flowers and the card with his address on them!" she exclaimed sounding as happy as Dimitri felt.

Lissa read Dimitri the address.

"Dimitri, please bring my cousin home. Take care of her," she told him. It came out as more of a question, as if she was asking him to protect her cousin the way she failed to.

"I will," he promised.

He found himself at Adrian's door sooner than he expected, the travel a vague blur. He didn't consider the fact that Adrian might be home but realized he didn't care. He almost wished he was there with Rose.

He thought about how all of this had happened, how things had become so horrible and difficult and how none of this felt real and none of this would've happened if he'd taken Rose when he had the chance to really be with her.

He blamed himself, he blamed Adrian, he blamed Tasha…he finally put it together that all of his suspicions about Tasha's sudden niceness toward Rose and setting her up with Adrian hadn't been wrong.

This was all still a game.

Dimitri would have to deal with that later though.

For now he had to focus on Rose.

He knocked on the door, his anxiousness getting the better of him.

He almost worried that she wasn't there, that she was out with Adrian.

"H-hello? Who is it?" She asked her voice cracking.

Dimitri exhaled loudly before saying, "It's Dimitri."

* * *

_**A/N: It was a bigger response than I expected for the last chapter. You guys are completely amazing! I'll be honest I was a little worried about how some of you guys would react but I think you all took one of the big revelations pretty well. Sorry about any spelling errors and I'm glad you guys like the story so much. And this should be among the last of the chapters that includes a really long flashback. I hope this flashback or this chapter in general wasn't confusing. Answers to all the open-ended questions will be given over the next few chapters.**_


	38. Chapter 38: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose paused with her hand on the doorknob briefly.

She rested her head against the cool door.

"Dimitri?" she asked as if she couldn't believe he was really there.

_I can't believe he's here. _

"Rose, open the door," Dimitri said calmly.

She didn't know why she was so hesitant about opening the door. Was it fear of Adrian? Fear of everything that might happen if she opened the door? Just fear itself?

She wanted to, more than anything. The sound of Adrian's voice in her head made her squeeze the door's knob a bit tighter, wanting nothing more than to throw it open. She worried that if she squeezed the knob any tighter it might come off in her hand and then she wouldn't have to worry about whether or not it was a good idea to open the door for Dimitri.

She flinched, reliving the hits she'd taken from Adrian and the pain he'd inflicted on her; she imagined the hits he'd give her if he found out she'd opened the door, to Dimitri of all people.

"I need to see that you're alright," he added a moment later when she still didn't say anything.

Simultaneously her heart squeezed, her stomach dropped, and her head started to throb. She was more surprised by her reaction to Dimitri's being here than by his words. For some reason she was use to the distant, sometimes isolating way Dimitri treated everyone. The only person he used his kinder voice on was his patients.

_I must have really sunk low for him to treat me like a patient, _she thought dryly wishing she had the energy to laugh outright.

_Or maybe I'm really that special to him, _she couldn't help thinking. She remembered the night at the pier when he'd been open and honest with her…and she'd turned him down…for Adrian. She wished more than anything that she could take that night back.

It was the first real night Dimitri had given Rose any sign that he had feelings, and more than that, feelings for her and she'd turned him away.

She had no reason to turn him away.

He told her he cared for her, he wanted to protect her, and most notably, he was nothing like Adrian.

He was just…Dimitri…and that was what mattered most.

Now here was her chance to let him in, literally and figuratively, and she was hesitating…

"I'm not leaving here until you open the door."

He sounded like he meant it.

She exhaled slowly.

_I shouldn't be afraid of him, I shouldn't be afraid of him._

She unlocked the door.

Opening the door, seeing with her own eyes that it really was the tall, long haired, brown eyed, man with a slightly Russian accent that she'd wanted very much for a long time now, she was relieved.

She could feel her body relax a bit, some of the tension and anxiety disappearing.

Dimitri's eyes darkened a bit and his jaw clenched tightly.

Rose, for a moment, forgot about the dark circles around her eyes, the paleness of her skin and the light redness of her face from crying.

"Hi." It was all she could seem to manage although it seemed so out of the ordinary and unnecessary. Her voice didn't sound like her own, spoken aloud, willingly, for the first time in a long time. She leaned against the edge of the door looking Dimitri over. He looked relatively great compared to her.

She could smell the faintest hint of alcohol rolling off of him though. It wasn't important now.

_All that matters is that he's here._

Dimitri, after looking her over a few times running his eyes over her body and at a loss for words, stepped forward, gently reaching out to hold onto her arms.

He waited, as if to see how she would react, before moving a bit closer. He moved a bit of hair out of her face running his long hands on either side of her face. Rose remembered appreciating how soft and cool Dimitri's doctor's hands were. She was grateful for how soft and warm they were now.

She couldn't wait any longer.

She leaped into his arms crashing into his chest so hard she could feel the buttons of his button down shirt pressed into her chest. His long arms wrapped almost as tightly around her slender frame as her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I can't believe you're here," she said her words muffled into the shoulder of his shirt. He held her at a distance to get a good look at her. He caressed the side of her face with the most recent of bruises. She spent a lot of her days imagining, daydreaming about being rescued by Dimitri and flinching under his touch but it didn't happen.

She relished in it.

"I can't believe this happened."

"You and me both," she said softly.

He placed his hands on either side of her face again muttering a promise that he'd never take moments like this for granted anymore. He'd use every opportunity and chance he had just to hold Rose.

"I'm not letting you go anytime soon. I hope you know that," he said after kissing the top of her head.

She laughed against his chest looking up at him. "You mean the next time I profess my growing love to you, you're not just going to sleep with me and then leave a few moments later?" she giggled.

"I think our nights together were longer than a few moments," he joked dryly. "But really, Rose," he said more seriously now. "I'm done pretending that it's okay that we're not together."

Briefly Rose worried that this was more of the alcohol talking than Dimitri but, remembering the night on the pier and the fact that he was here, assured her fears.

Without waiting for her to response, he wrapped his arms around her waist lifting her off of the ground a bit to kiss her. He didn't seem to be worried, anymore about being gentle with her but Rose figured that it was the alcohol affecting his usual doctor gentleness. It felt like eternity when they pulled apart and Rose could almost swear the world was tilting a bit.

She flinched, when he set her down, from not being wrapped in his embrace any longer, away from his warmth, and because her entire body was sore from the more recent hits she'd taken from Adrian.

Dimitri noticed her pained expression and his face turned apologetic.

"I'm sorr-" he started to say, when Rose stopped him with a quick kiss on the lips.

"Don't ever apologizing for holding me like that ever again," she told him firmly. "In fact, next time I push you away after kissing me like you did at the pier, push me over the railing," she joked dryly.

She wanted and wished for nothing more than to savor this newfound relationship, in every touch and kiss and embrace but now wasn't the perfect moment.

"Where is he?" Dimitri asked barging into the condo.

Rose had only ever seen Dimitri angry a few times before. Those times paled in comparison to how angry he looked now.

"H-he's not here."

Dimitri searched, pushing each door open until he seemed sure that Adrian wasn't there.

After his quicker search he walked toward Rose, holding her arms gently and staring down at her as if contemplating something. He seemed unsure of what to do, if it was best to just take Rose and leave or to wait for Adrian to come home.

Rose didn't give things a second thought.

"Let's just go, Dimitri," she pleaded.

It seemed so easy now, saying that she would leave this nightmare and never come back. _It only seems easy because Dimitri is here_, she thought.

His jaw clenched. She could imagine how tempting it was, to wait and let Adrian come home and find the much taller Dimitri in the living room. She was tempted to let it happen but her fear of things getting more out of hand than they already were, her eagerness to go away with Dimitri, won over her temptation.

"Please, for me. I need to get out of here." She knew that would work on him.

It had worked once before in Rose's life.

* * *

_Rose stood at the front of the crowd of mourners. She felt guilty for not crying but she couldn't help not crying. She'd cried a lot the past week and now she just wanted to forget._

_She looked at all of the people around her. The adults and even most of the kids, some of them her classmates, others were distant relatives and kids she played with in the old neighborhood, were much taller than her, crying._

_She was going to miss them. She almost wished she didn't have to move away to a new house, to Lissa's house but she knew for sure she didn't want to go back to her own house. Thinking of Lissa, she turned toward her cousin who stood next to her crying, holding her hand firmly._

"_Lissa, let's go."_

_Lissa looked away from the coffin being lowered a few feet in front of them toward Rose surprised. "What?" She whispered, her voice squeaking. _

"_I don't want to be here any more," Rose whispered looking around to make sure no one heard her. _

_Lissa's surprised and uncertain face softened to one of sympathy. She still hesitated a moment glancing back at her mom who was standing behind the girls holding her_ _husband, Eric's, hand both of them staring blankly at the coffin that was closer to being in the ground now._

"_Please, Lissa. For me. I need to get out of here," Rose begged._

_A moment later the girls managed to walk slowly away from the crowd of mourners going unnoticed until they started running across the green, dewy grass of the cemetery away from the mourners, Rose's Aunt Rhea calling after them._

* * *

Remembering where she was and forgetting about the past for a moment, Rose focused on Dimitri again.

His muscles unclenched and he relaxed a bit. He nodded slightly, reluctantly.

She grabbed her biggest bag, pulled on a pair of jeans and sandals.

"Adrian's going to be pissed when he sees I'm not here," she mumbled to her self.

Dimitri, hearing her, stepped toward her, holding her in a hug and said, "Don't worry about him anymore. I'll take care of everything."

* * *

**_A/N: The loving response always amazes me! I'm glad some of you enjoyed the flashback. It was necessary to fill in a few important plots of the story but no more really long false-hope chapters that turn out to be flashbacks (I couldn't help adding one little flashback in this chapter though. Like I said, each flashback reveals more of the story). Hope you liked the chapter! (By the way, I read a review that gave a bit of a comment about my rambling sentences. I appreciate the (taken) advice and I'll try to fix it in the rest of this story's chapters! :D)_**


	39. Chapter 39: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

Rose hadn't once let go of him.

On the ride to the clinic she hung onto his arm while he drove. The buzz he'd had from the alcohol made his blood boil even thinking about Adrian but he thought he'd be just as angry if he were completely sober.

He wished he hadn't drunk so much.

Everything he felt when he held Rose for the first time back at the condo was numbed a bit by the alcohol.

_But if I hadn't of gone drinking, I probably wouldn't have found Rose, _he thought.

Fate had a funny way of messing with him.

He wished he were completely sober that he could genuinely feel the softness of her skin, smell the shampoo in her hair, strawberry she always used. He knew for certain that Adrian didn't appreciate Rose's smaller barely noticeably traits. He felt angrier, thinking about Adrian, than affectionate now but he focused on Rose to keep himself calm.

Rose looked over her shoulder as they walked into the clinic.

"Are you okay?" he asked unlocking the door.

"Just got that feeling that someone was following us," she whispered.

Dimitri glanced back but reassured her fears when he saw no one was there.

He unlocked the door to his office and settled Rose on the examining table that Dimitri had occasionally used as a bed when he stayed late in the back of his office.

It was weird having someone he knew on the examining table.

"You have some pretty bad bruises but they should heal normally without leaving any lasting marks," he observed examining her arms and legs. "I'm afraid I can't say much about the mental scars."

"Nothing I haven't had to handle before," she laughed without any humor. Dimitri didn't ask her to elaborate. Now that he'd taken her away from Adrian, the only thing he wanted her to do was to try to forget for a while about any lasting marks she might have.

"Me either," he told her.

They shared a knowing look of complicated past but now was the time to let go, just for while. She smiled gently, content that she had someone to relate to. Ironically enough it was the one person who, for so long, pushed and pulled away from her and vice versa. They were together now though and that was all that mattered. It was funny. He'd met Rose almost half a year ago and now he couldn't imagine life without her.

"Are you up for an examination now? It's nothing you haven't seen me do to hundreds of other people before," he added in case she wasn't too eager to have another man's hands roaming over her body so soon.

Mentioning other patients, Dimitri remembered Rose's first day working with him and the young girl that he had patched up while Rose talked to her, trying to help.

_"I used to fall a lot too."_

_The girl seemed intrigued._

_"Really?"_

_Rose nodded._

_"At school and at home. It usually happened when someone pushed me though."_

_"I was so embarrassed and hurt that I'd tell people I fell and I'd keep it to myself because I thought it was my fault that people didn't like me and wanted to hurt me."_

Dimitri wondered if all of this had happened before. He was piecing things together a bit slowly tonight. He remembered the night of the pier too.

_"I don't see how parents can hit their kids."_

_"They think it's a form of discipline."_

_"That's a lie they tell to make themselves feel better, to make it seem like they're doing nothing wrong."_

_Dimitri glanced over at her most likely wondering when and why the mood had shifted so quickly. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience."_

"I just understand, is all," she said simply.

She stared, spacing out at the floor of his office before answering. "It's better to do this sooner than later, isn't it?"

Dimitri nodded.

"You're…you have to document this?" She asked, dread clear I her voice.

Dimitri froze.

He'd been so intent on taking care of Adrian, and eventually Tasha, himself that he didn't give the legal system even a fleeting thought.

"Technically yes," he answered hesitantly. "It's better if I do. It'll make it easier to report this to the police if I document it."

"Why didn't you just take me to the police after we'd left the condo?"

Honest answer: he wanted Rose to himself, just for a few moments before police swarmed her with questions and took her away from him for who knows how long. Rose seemed to be able to read his expression enough that she understood. She smiled slightly and then sighed again.

Rose turned away from him, running her hands through her hair. She was anxious, Dimitri could tell, and he couldn't blame her.

He pulled a stool out and grabbed the formal paper work necessary. He didn't want to do this anymore than she did. He _was_ curious though. He needed to know what happened.

"When did it start?" He thought it best to just get straight into things.

Rose sighed; messing with her hair on her head before telling the story of the first time Adrian hit her. And the more she went into the story the more Dimitri's muscled clenched, his blood boiled, his heart raced, the more he began wondering how all of this could've happened, if this could've been avoided, and if his good record as a doctor would help his first degree murder charge once he found the appropriate way to kill Adrian.

Rose went on, telling Dimitri everything, how often he hit her, how close it came to Adrian taking advantage of her until the story reached to where they were now.

"He left early this morning, as usual. I'm a little surprised you were able to get into the building."

"Why?"

"Because he usually has Stan outside. He's his sort of bodyguard, evil partner in crime," she explained. "He keeps an eye on me when Adrian's not there," she shuddered. "I guess we were just lucky," she mused.

Dimitri knew better than that. He didn't believe in luck because there was no such thing.

He decided to keep that much to himself though. For now anyway.

"It's over now, Rose," he promised. He reached forward, tilting her face up. She grabbed a hold of his wrist smiling slightly.

"Now for the more basic questions…" Dimitri glanced at the blank spaces on the formal paper work that asked for background history.

"Do we have to do that now? I think I've had enough story telling. Just for a little while."

Dimitri agreed, understanding. "It can wait 'til later."

He moved the stool away and set the paper work in his bag.

"Now for the examination," he announced standing.

Dimitri went to wash his hands. A light buzz of alcohol running through his system or not, Dimitri was a thorough and damn good doctor.

"Are _you _up for giving me an examination?" Rose asked as he dried his hands.

"What do you mean?"

" I mean…I tasted alcohol on your breath earlier. Not to mention you seem so angry that you're shaking," she noticed Dimitri's trembling form. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"I'm fine. I just shouldn't have drunk so much when I went out with Ivan."

Thinking of Ivan Dimitri remembered that he should probably call Ivan and Lissa to assure them that Rose was okay.

Lissa yelled so loudly through the phone when Dimitri gave Rose his phone to call that he thought it was on speaker.

"So glad you're okay! Where are you? We have to talk soon and Mia is freaking out and Ivan and his brother are threatening to go after Adrian with a bat and-" Lissa talk non-stop for a few minutes before Rose was able to cut in, telling her cousin that everything was alright and to tell the others that she was fine and safe with Dimitri for now.

"I think you should check my hearing. I think she blew my eardrum," Rose joked tapping her ear once she'd hung up.

"She just cares about you. They all do," Dimitri said chuckling.

"Lay back," he instructed her.

He was in full overprotective doctor mode now.

"Aren't you even going to take me out to dinner first?" Rose joked laying back. He was happy to see she was still a bit of her old self and Adrian hadn't done too much damage.

"I think we're past that," he returned.

He felt the vibrations of her laugh as he ran his hand along her skin to see how she'd react. He felt a bit guilty about not being gentle before and was sort of making up for it now.

"Does it hurt when I press down here?"

She shook her head slowly. He could see that everything was starting to really affect her now. Her eyes were soft and calm; she looked relaxed. He'd nearly forgotten how beautiful she truly was.

Dimitri realized, _It's different, talking to her on the phone, only hearing her voice but not seeing her, having her small warm body in front of me or at least near me._

He moved his hands over and across her stomach. She only flinched once.

He noted that in the formal paper work before turning back to Rose.

"I'm going to need to see where it hurts," he told her.

"Always so eager to see me with my clothes off," she smiled sitting up.

Dimitri would've laughed but at that moment he realized that they were completely alone, there was no reason for them to be apart anymore.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she laughed nervously.

Dimitri shook his head trying to clear his thoughts… and to shake the wanting feeling building up inside him. "No reason."

"I want you too, you know," Rose stated confidently, reading Dimitri's mind.

_Her directness is what's always attracted me to her in the first place, _he laughed inwardly.

"I don't think now is the right time. I think you need to heal a little more. We have all the time in the world. We just have to be patient…and wait a while," he added, swallowing the dryness in his throat.

The ironic part was that as he was saying all of this, his hands hand found their way on either side of Rose's fully curved form, resting at her waist.

Rose smiled, rolling her eyes playfully, wrapping her arms familiarly around Dimitri's neck.

"We've waited long enough. I'm tired of waiting," she whispered reeling in Dimitri toward her. Her happy expression sobered into a more serious one. She exhaled brushing her lips over Dimitri's.

He really didn't think now was the right time for this to happen but he didn't care right now.

All he cared about was now was the softness of Rose's skin, how her body fit perfectly against his own, and she now how and where to touch him to get a reaction out of him. She trembled slightly but when Dimitri focused his eyes directly into her own, she relaxed, coming to the say realization that he did: for now, right now, it was only the two of them, no one else.

_I promised that I wasn't going to waste any more time with Rose…and this is it…_

_A perfect moment. _

"No more waiting."

* * *

**_A/N: I don't know if it was too soon for something like this to happen yet but here it is (All apart of the plot)! Hope the chapter was to your liking. Belated warning: I made Dimitri a bit of a softy in this chapter. I'll try and make up for it later. XD_**


	40. Chapter 40: Rose

_**Rose**_

For a long time, Rose couldn't breathe.

She felt like she was suffocating and no one would rescue her.

All of those countless days she'd, forcibly, spent with Adrian, she felt like she was drowning, like no one could or would save her.

Everyday she'd sink lower and lower until she was only surrounded by darkness.

Being with Dimitri now, Rose still couldn't breathe but this was a different kind of breathlessness. It was a mixture of nervousness, happiness, and pure excitement.

Sure, she couldn't breathe but it was because of the long extended kisses and it felt like only Dimitri could save her.

He wanted her more than he had let on.

His initial reluctance made Rose briefly worry that he might not want to touch her anymore after everything Adrian had done. Those fears quickly disappeared once her lips met Dimitri's.

His hands were tightly around her waist, assuring Rose he wasn't going to let go anytime soon and she didn't want him to, and he couldn't seem to get close enough to her.

Rose, feeling the same way, unbuttoned his shirt, letting it fall silently to the floor without breaking the kiss. She wondered if it was weird that she was so eager to move on after everything she'd been through at the hands of Adrian. She decided she'd never see that monster again, everything was okay now, and that she was with the man she'd wanted all along, she had Dimitri.

Dimitri seemed to appreciate having her too.

He ran his hands gently along the smooth plains of her skin so soft and slowly that she worried he was just doing another, very thorough, examination of her body but the look in his eyes reassured her that he really wanted her, that he just wanted every part of her that he could to make up for all the time they'd lost.

He enjoyed tempting her. She remembered that each time they's slept together he'd do little things to build up all the eager lust and wanting to build up for the big moment when they actually _were_ together.

He went in for a small kiss and then pull away, leaving the feeling of his lips on her own lingering long after; edging his finger underneath her bra feeling the curves of her full chest; brush his lips along the sensitive parts of her body, hovering over her making her reach for him.

All of this drove Rose mad, giving all of their encounters animal-like qualities making the sex that much better. Rose could feel those same feelings building up now but also something more...something special.

She ran her hands through the silkiness of Dimitri's hair, over the muscles in his arms, and chest.

Dimitri's hands pressed on the one truly injured spot on her stomach and Rose flinched.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" he asked breathless, pulling further away than Rose would've liked.

She shook her head, reaching for him to come closer to her again. He hesitated slightly and kissed her a little less fiercely when Rose wrapped her legs around his waist smashing their two warm bodies together.

He moved his hands, still hesitant, from leaning on the examining table she was still sitting on into her long hair, running them down her shoulders.

The shoulders of her sweater and the straps of her camisole fell. Rose gently nipped and tugged on Dimitri's lips, urging him to undress her the rest of the way. He didn't seem to need anymore prodding.

In what seemed like one quick moment, the rest of their clothes fell away and they ended up on the cool carpeted floor or Dimitri's body, blanketed only by the warmth of each other's bodies.

Rose still couldn't breathe but she enjoyed the reason her breath was so taken away.

Dimitri was there to help her.

* * *

_**A/N: I ramble a lot in this short corny chapter but to be honest love scenes aren't my thing. Also, I love love love loved the amazingly supportive reviews (and I hope I get more even after it took forever for me to update with this mediocre chapter)!**_

_**I'm glad a few of you liked that Dimitri and Rose were finally together in this chapter. I've been putting it off for a while so I figured it had to happen sometime, why not now. :) **_

_**Thanks a Million,**_

_**Ladierock**_

_**P.S. (I also hate when authors say this and then don't but...) I'll update soon**_


	41. Chapter 41: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"Would now be a good time to ask you how many people you've slept with?"

Dimitri's hand, running slowly along Rose's bare back, paused, taken off guard by the question.

"That many, huh?" Rose giggled, her laughter vibrating from her body to his where she rested against him, when he didn't anwser right away.

He cleared his throat. He didn't want to ruin this perfect moment. "Not many," he said simply, kissing the top of her head hoping to distract her.

He was grateful she couldn't get a clear look at his face right now with the comfortable position they were in, him leaning against one of the cool walls of the office and Rose reclined against him surrounded by their clothes. He figured it didn't matter, though, that Rose couldn't see his face. She could tell by the sound in his voice that he was lying.

_Hell, even I can tell I'm lying, _he thought.

He felt stuck in a hard place. He didn't want to start this newfound relationship off by lying but he also didn't want to ruin the perfection of everything that had just happened, the afterglow, by telling the truth.

"Give me a number, boss man. Lower than two?"

"Are you assuming _I've _only slept with two people in my life? I mean, look at me," he joked.

Rose laughed pulling her self up a little high against him. "Okay fine. you are pretty good looking and so am I-"

"What does that have to do with my number?"

"Nothing. It's just nice to point out. Now I'm going to guess less than ten?"

"Okay let's go with that," he said confortable with that number.

_Not to low or too high._

"What's your number?"

"I asked you first!" she exclaimed.

"And I asked you second."

"What do you _think _my number is?"

Another dangerous question.

"You're eighteen-"

"Almost nineteen and eww."

"Why eww?"

"You're in your late twenties. You have almost a whole decade ahead of me," she laughed.

"I'm not _that _old. Now if I was in my thirties this would be a bit weirder. Now, back to your number. You're eighteen, you have a very forward personality, and you're pretty easy on the eyes so I'm going to say your number is..."

"Careful Belikov," she warned teasingly.

"Lower than ten. Did I guess correctly?"

"Sure why not."

Dimitri wasn't satisfied by the anwser but he decided to leave it alone to avoid the conversation coming back around to him.

"I won't push you on your number...for now. Since I'm sure you have a few trystes that you don't remember and want to forget."

"Why do you assume that?"  
"You went to college didn't you?"

"Yes?"

"With Ivan of all people...?"

"Good point," Dimitri said remembering.

They laid in silence for a while, their low breathing filling the room. Dimitri had many opportunities to hold Rose in his arms and he'd taken advantage of them all. He was grateful he'd finally come to his senses and held Rose a little tighter. She snuggled against him sighing in content.

A thought suddenly appeared in his head.

"Rose, I have to know..." he started hesitantly.

"Know what?" she asked rolling closer into Dimitri's arm.

Dimitri felt his throat tighten. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the anwser to his question. "Did he...did Adrian..." he started to ask unable to finish the sentence without either of them trembling, Rose from fear, Dimitri because of anger.

"He didn't," she said firmly, making it clear that was as far as she wanted to go in the conversation or any conversation about Adrian in general.

Dimitri understood and held her a little tighter kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you," she whispered a moment later, her voice so low Dimitri wasn't sure she spoke at all until she shifted enough to look at Dimitri.

"For?"

"Saving me."

Dimitri almost laughed outright. He was anything but a rescuer. He didn't feel like one. He'd found himself attracted to Rose because of how straight forward her personality was and because of how fearless she seemed.

"You're stronger than you think you are," he assured her. "You didn't need me to rescue you. You were more than capable yourself."

"Then why didn't I?"

"You'll have to ask yourself that question"

Rose seemed to think for a moment about that. Dimitri had been thinking about it himself a lot too.

"You sound like some type of all knowing zen teacher," she commented a moment later. "I like it better when we irgnore our problems by not talking."

"If everyone replaced all of thier problems with sex-"  
"the world would be a better place," Rose finished.

Dimitri laughed a bit. "I doubt that."

"It's true. If I had sex before I left the house every morning, I'd be happier and less likely to cuss someone out for blocking my driveway or taking out all of my female hormones on a parking meter."

"Has this happened before?"

"Maaaaaaaaaybe," she said. She sat up a little turning over so that she was facing Dimitri. He couldn't seem to take his eyes- or his hands- off of her. She ran her hand along the side of his face gently brushing along the scruff that was growing there. She tucked a few of the long strands of hair that were in his face behind his ear before moving in to press her lips against his.

"Are you willing to test my theory?" Rose whispered against the side of his neck.

"Only to prove you wrong."

She laughed as Dimitri rolled on top of her as they fell back against the floor.

* * *

"Do you think this was all too soon...that we're moving too quickly?" Rose asked pulling her camisole back on.

Dimitri held up one side of the shirt brushing his fingers against the bruise on her said that he'd touched before.

"For me, no," he anwsered. "Does it hurt more?" he asked concerned. He'd been hesitant after he'd touched the bruise too roughly before.

She shook her head and Dimitri let her pull her camisole the rest of the way on.

"I'm glad this happened. I wouldn't take any of it back but I think we should slow down a bit. Give you some time to catch your breath after everything that's happened. We have all the time in the world to be...together."

"Time seems a little shorter after everything that's happened," she whispered leaning against the examination bed.

Dimitri stepped toward her putting his hands on either side of her waist.

"It'll be okay. We just have to work together."

Rose nodded but she didn't seem convinced.

Dimitri couldn't blame her.

"Are you ready to go to the police?"

She nodded pulling her hair back into a ponytail. He could tell she was nervous. He kissed her twice on the lips and she seemed to brighten, even smiling a little.

"You know this tragic life story of mine would be a lot more interesting if you were a police officer instead of a doctor, maybe a detective."

"Why's that?"

"Then you'd be the broody, dark detective who falls for the weak and helpless victim in one of his cases in trying to bring down a scumbag, Adrian of course, and we'd have this passionate love affair that's threatened by the scumbag who kidnaps the victim but is rescued by the broody detective. _That_ would be an interesting story. Especially if Adrian dies at the end, shot while resisting arrest. I'd be on the book cover, in your arms, our hair blowing in the wind."

"Sounds corny," Dimitri smiled simply.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Our actual story is much better, just less interesting. Our book cover would have to be of you in your doctor's coat with nothing on but a stethascope."

They both laughed as Dimitri gathered the paperwork he'd filled out for the police, took Rose by the hand, and walked out of the office.

"I think I like your office a little bit better now," Rose smiled behind him.

"That makes two of us."

Rose waited patiently as Dimitri locked the doors of the clinic. He noticed her glancing over her shoulder's cautiously. He'd forgotten how dark it was out here, remembering Rose's comments about the parking lot needing more lights.

Rose stepped closer to Dimitri, gripping his arm tightly.

"Rose, what is-" he was about to ask.

He was interrupted by the quick shadow of a figure moving toward them before blacking out briefly.

Dimitri was in and out of darkness. The next time he opened his eyes, he was on his back. He tried to sit up but his arms slid against glass underneath his arms. He felt nothing but heat in one arm and looked down to see the red substance he'd become so familiar with over the years but never really had to deal with himself: blood.

He tried a second time to stand and was successful, his shoes skidding against the glass. He'd been thrown backward through the front doors of the clinic.

He could hear Rose's screams ringing in and out of his head but he couldn't see her. He stepped out of the clinic muttering her name but he was having a hard time standing upright. He wondered if it had something to do witht he sharp pain in his side and head.

He could see Rose but his vision was blurry. It was hard to miss her shapely figure even with blurred vision. She wasn't alone. There were two figures struggling to get her in the car. She pushed and shoved and kicked from what Dimitri could see and by the grunts of the two men it sounded like they were having a hard time getting her into the waiting car.

"Dimitri!" she shouted moving toward him but one of the men seized her while the other, catching sight of Dimitri, moved toward him.

Gaining a bit of his strength, Dimitri managed to stand a little straighter and lashed out at the figure in front of him.

The figure grunted, sounding a lot like Adrian.

"I have the upper hand here Belikov," he huffed before knocking Dimitri against the head again, dodging his hit.

Dimitri could feel himself falling, Rose's voice fading further and further away.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank you for the help. I'm glad I was finally able to find the story (or people who knew the story) but I was disappointed to find it has only been update once this year with only three chapters so bummer but it feels good to finally find it so VERY MUCH THANKS! **_

_**Also, I think one of my favorite reviews was a fan that told me the story might be My FBI Guy (which was MY story) but really, I do appreciate the help.**_

_**Hope you all liked the chapter. I'm updating often (trying too) without anymore of these unnecessary and annoying author's notes so...Happy you like the (very long) story and I'll put up a new chapter soon.**_

_**lots of love,**_

_**ladierock**_


	42. Chapter 42: Rose

_**Rose**_

_"Mommy? Where are we going?"_

_Janine hurriedly shoved Rose's clothes into a backpack by the handfuls. She moved so quickly across Rose's small room, Rose felt dizzy just watching her. _

_"Mommy?" Rose said again when her mother didn't answer the first time. "Mommy where are we going?" She watched as her favorite sweaters and one pair of her shoes were stuffed into the backpack. "Are we leaving? I don't want to leave."_

_Janine stopped in the middle of the room, staring down at her daughter. Rose noticed she looked tired. Rose wondered if it was because of the fighting. Her eyes were watery and sad and her fair skin was flushed red. _

_Janine stopped for a moment, and kneeled in front of her daughter, sighing. Up close, Rose could see how puffy her mother's eyes were and a red splotch on the side of her face. Rose wondered if that was from the fighting too._

_"We have to leave. It's what's best right now, sweets," Janine told her simply. _

_"Why? Why can't we stay with daddy?"_

_"Because..."_

_"Because why?"_

_"We just can't, Rose." Her mother's voice was on the edge of breaking, the way it always did when she was sad or upset. Rose usually comforted her mother when she was sad or upset like this but this time she didn't. She wanted to know what was going on and why most of her things were shoved into a backpack._

_"But I want to stay here-"_

_"No you don't, Rosie," she interrupted._

_"I want to stay with daddy-"_

_"Well daddy doesn't want you!" Rose felt herself flinch at how loud her mother's voice had become. She was never mad at Rose, not once. Rose felt tears building behind her eyes. "I'm sorry," Janine said a little bit softer. "You know my baby girl and I'd do anything for you but right now...I need you to do something for me.. Okay?"_

_Rose bit her lip. Her mother _did _do any and everything for her. This once, she had the chance to do something for her mother and, like she always did, do what she was told. _

_Rose nodded. "Okay."_

_Janine wrapped a lock of Rose's hair around her finger and gave it a playful tug and Rose laughed pulling one of her mother's own curls. Janine pressed a warm motherly kiss on Rose's forehead and smiled, what seemed like the first smile in days. "Thank you. You know I love you, right Sweets?"_

_Rose nodded vehemently. Without a doubt, her mother loved her._

_Without another word Janine looked at her daughter for a moment longer, as remembering the short, long-haired, brown-eyed girl who always had something to say about everything and was never afraid to speak. Rose noticed her mother blinked back tears in her eyes and then turned away finishing packing the backpack on the bed and the suitcase beside it._

_Without realising it, that was the last time she'd ever see her mother's face clearly ever again._

* * *

Rose jolted awake.

Her chest felt heavy, sweat was covering every inch of her trembling body, and her eyes couldn't seem to focus.

Despite her vision being a blur she knew for certain that she was in someone's bedroom, on their bed. She felt the comfort of a cushioned bed beneath her and could very vaguely make out furniture items. When her vision did clear, she found that she'd been right about the bedroom guess.

It was completely black, the furniture, the curtains, the rug on the floor. Rose found herself wondering if the entire house was this way. She sat up a bit, her head throbbing and a bit of nausea was making her stomach turn. She regretted sitting up so quickly but her instincts were vibrating throughout her body that she should be awake and alert.

And then she remembered.

_Adrian and Stan...she saw the town car parked across the street from the clinic, Adrian appearing, Stan walking briskly toward them. He was fast. By the time Rose had thought to warn Dimitri, Stan had a hold of him, tossing him easily against the doors of the clinic. _

_Dimitri stumbled, the glass of the clinic's doors cracking, but he managed to stand, landing a few quickly blows on Stan before a shot rang out, Rose screamed, and Stan had managed to shove Dimitri enough into the shattered glass of the clinic leaving him unconscious on the floor._

_Vaguely, Rose remembered trying to run toward him, to get to him, all the while forcing herself to remember how to wrap a wound and how to remove a bullet. Someone's strong arms stopped her though._

_Adrian. She could feel his familiar, rough hands around her wrists. _

_"Oh, no, no, I think we'd better leave him, Rose Dear," Adrian said casually. Stan was quickly in front of her with a cloth in his hand trying to force it over her mouth. She thought they were trying to quiet her screams but she could smell strong chemicals rolling off of he cloth. _

_She gave one swift kick, doing something she'd never tried before, fighting back against Adrian. Adrian grunted, muttering a few profanities. _

_Rose didn't see the retaliation hit coming until his fist collided with the side of her face. She stumbled to the floor, landing on her hands. Stan was quick to grab a hold of her so that she would crawl away. He held her firmly against him still trying to force the cloth over her mouth but she was wiggling too much for him. _

_Adrian seemed to recover from Rose's kick and stood in front of her. _

_Rose lashed out wildly, trying to land any blows she could. She figured she had a real reason, Dimitri, to fight now._

_She managed to catch a glance at Dimitri who was stirring awake. _

_She stopped moving briefly and her gave was focused off of Dimitri for the moment._

_The barrel of a gun, the one presumably used to take down Dimitri, was in her face._

_Adrian had threatened her with it before but she'd never thought he'd actually use it. It all became real now._

_"Rose, I really don't want to leave two dead bodies so for once can you do as I ask and get into the car." Rose dared a glance at Dimitri again._

_Adrian, following her gaze, scoffed and quickly slammed one of the gun's ends against the side of her head. _

_She screamed and started kicking again when Adrian walked away from her toward the standing Dimitri._

_"No! Adrian please! I'll go! I'll go with you! Leave him alone!"_

_She remembered a struggle that she watched through her blurry tears, Adrian said something Rose couldn't hear over her own screams, her heart dropping when she saw Dimitri fall again, and then...darkness._

"You're up. Good," Adrian greeted walking into the dark bedroom. Rose flinched at his close proximity. She could smell his heavy cologne rolling off of his body. He was clad in dark clothes, nearly blending into the room itself. She could see a bit of sweat on his forehead and a few faint marks on his face.

She brightened a bit at the thought of being able to land a few blows on him.

"I only slept so long because of the blow the back of your gun dealt me," she pointed out."

Adrian shrugged.

"I guess you shouldn't have run then. Anyway, tt's no fun playing a game when one of the players is asleep so it's good you're up now."

"Is that what this is? A game?" Rose had told herself she wouldn't speak to him but she couldn't help it when she thought of what he did to Dimitri.

"It didn't start out that way. Honest." Begrudgingly, Rose had to admit that he sounded sincere but she knew not to fall for his winning smile and dazzlingly charm. She wouldn't dare make the same mistake.

She glared at him as he sat casually in a chair across from her, one long leg folded over the other. She made it clear that she wasn't buying into anything he was saying.

He gave a one-sided smirk, easily able to read Rose's expression.

"Alright, you caught me. It's _always_ been a game and you bought into it. I would've never guessed you'd be so guilable...especially given your history with...agressive men such as myself."

Rose could feel her heart freeze again. She shouldn't have been surprised that he'd looked into her past. She shouldn't have been surprised by anything any more.

"You don't know what you're talking about," she said through gritted teeth.

"Actually, dear, I think I do. Stan was very thorough in researching a bit about you." He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and scanned over the paper with his piercing green eyes. "It seems history is repeating itself, isn't it?"  
She didn't bother answering.

"I have to admit. I can relate."  
She didn't speak. Her throat felt swollen and her head was still pounding. She didn't want to think anymore. She didn't want to be here anymore. She just wanted to leave.

"History is repeating itself for me too. I find that I'm playing the same game over and over again and it's starting to get boring so I thought I'd mix it up-"

"By using me as your punching bag? You mean you've never done this before?" She found that hard to believe.

He laughed that casual business laugh of his before rising out of his chair, staring out of the curtained window as he spoke. Rose could see that it was still dark out.

"Another fib. Actually I have done this before but only once or twice." He paused and then turned to face Rose. She flinched when she met his eyes but she wouldn't dare look away. "You see, this is how the game goes. The main players include myself, of course, your fallen loverboy-" Rose flinched. "Tasha, and occasionally Stan who only plays _occasionally_ because he likes the rough games. There's also one other very important player that's been cast and recast again and again because we've never found the right person...until you came along. You should feel very special," he beamed.

"I'm elated," Rose muttered.

"The game started a long time ago. It's kind of like Monopoly, it never ends but I'm always the winner. Initially there were only the first three players, Dimitri was the antagonist, Tasha was the emotional damsel in distress who needed a bit of comfort after her family lost a few important members who kept the money flowing, and I was the brave knight, there to comfort her."

"I think you have your roles mixed up," Rose muttered.

Her commentary didn't earn her a casual smirk but a hard hit across the face. She remembered he didn't like to be interrupted. He went on as if nothing happened and Rose sat, trying not to focus on the burning tingling on the side of her face.

"Anyway, things were pretty good for a while. Tasha and I were together. Was it perfect? No. Far from it, but what relationship is. She had her anger issues and I had a few issues with being faithful but we were slowly working through it. I knew she had a past with Dimitri before but he wasn't a threat to me. Or at least I didn't perceive him as one. Dimitri, with his flunky sidekick Ivan, was rebelling, setting things on fire, drinking, sleeping with every girl whether they had a boyfriend or not, going to parts of Russia, I'd never heard of, for a good time. Things seemed good. Sure, we weren't the same friends we were when we first met but you'll find that as time goes on, people change."

Rose had a witty comeback for that but she decided it was better to keep quiet.

"And then one day, out of the clear blue sky Tasha goes on one of her many rampages when she sees Dimitri with another girl...Avery. Me, willing to do anything for the woman I'm in love with, agrees to ignore the fact that she's jealous over an ex-boyfriend and helps her to ruin said boyfriend's newfound relationship. I didn't really have a choice seeing as she said she'd leave me for him if I didn't help. Being the good and selfless man I am, I manage to steal Avery away from Belikov leaving him alone and unhappy, the way Tasha wanted him. She always said if she couldn't have him, no one could and he couldn't be happy. I mean honestly, what is the big attraction to this guy-"

"His heart," Rose dared to interrupt. "And you ruined it."

"Oh, it was long ruined before I came along."

"He makes a girl feel special and not like a punching bag," she went on.

"You make him sound like some kind of saint!" Adrian shouted holding his face a bit to close to hers.

She wouldn't tear her gaze from his but she could see the gun in her peripheral, firmly in his hand. She wasn't afraid anymore though. He already took what she wanted most. He calmed a bit, sitting across from her again rubbing his fingers along the gun.

"Anyway, continuing with my sordid tale, Dimitri was alone again and to be honest, he seemed fine not to have the distraction of a woman in his life. I was fine with that but Tasha wasn't. She wanted more. I gave her everything but the one thing she really wanted...him. I guess that's something we have in common: an attraction to things we can't have. I wasn't ready to let go so easy but it sure was easy for her to leave me, pining away for the russian bastard. I was upset and I acted irrationally, taking it out on Avery who I still had in the palm of my hand."

Rose spoke, fearless even more so now."And I guess I fell into the same trap."

"You guess correctly. You and a few other girls who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, coming across our russian antagonist and finding themselves more than attracted but drawn to him. Tasha would call me and have me help to get rid of each and every one of you. It was a simple game that I'm sure Dimitri suspected existed for a long time but never caught on to. We'd laugh when another girl, a mistress would suddenly break off any ties she had with him and then make love in their bed. Tasha got off on this kind of thing."

Adrian smiled to himself, remembering.

"After a while, things calmed a bit. She must have seen something in Dimitri, determination to be successful which of course leads to money, because she would never wholeheartedly agree to leave him. She's promised me time and time again that she'd be with me once she was able to access enough of Dimitri's money which is easier done when married. The divorce laws here are usually in favor of the women and money is always a good reason to do anything, especially for someone like me who faced a few financial set backs of my own. She said she was waiting for the right moment after they were married to set him up so that she could catch him cheating but I knew, I could tell she wasn't going to leave so easily. She was too comfortable in her place, sleeping with him continuously saying it meant nothing. And then the unthinkable happens..."

He glances up at Rose whose body is starting to feel stiff from sitting in the same position for too long. She sits, waiting for him to continue and it takes her a while to realise why he's stopped.

"Me," she says aloud, barely above a whisper.

Another one-sided smirk and Adrian stands still holding the gun. "Yes, you my lovely Rose. Dimitri has another mistress, one he can't seem to forget about or move on from. It was nothing to obvious, I didn't think we really had anything to worry about until Tasha tells me she starts seeing changes in our russian player. He seems, different, less cold-hearted and she thinks it has something to do with you. Her fears are confirmed. You finally become real the day she meets you in the flesh, at that nice restaurant and she sees Dimitri's reaction to you. I just had to find out for myself without giving anything away so I devised a plan. She told me how Dimitri had hired you as his assistant so on the very first day of your new job I paid an easily believable girl to play the wounded, abused victim."

Rose sat dumbfounded. She remembered the girl, the first patient she'd really felt connected to and was able to relate to.

"Her bruises were real, Dimitri would've noticed if-"

"You'd be surprised how much runaways are willing to help any man with money. She let me slap her around a bit, to make it look authentic of course. She was easy to find given how the clinic is in such a bad area. I paid her to give me a feel of what you were like. I couldn't rely on Tasha because, of course she'd have a biased opinion. She said good things about you making me even more curious. I had Stan do some digging and then I knew exactly how to play you. You'd come from a troubled home life already, it'd be easy getting rid of you. Tasha agreed and that's how this whole thing was set up. But Tasha was right about one thing. You were different. You weren't as easy to persuade to trust me, especially since Dimitri had a bigger effect on you than we thought. You fought tooth and nail, literally but I was able to break you down eventually. Dimitri helped a bit. You know how?"

Rose did but she let Adrian answer his own question.

"He just kept pushing and pushing you away until he pushed you right into my arms...and here we are. Aren't you impressed. I think I told our tale pretty nicely."

Rose felt like she was going to throw up. Her chest felt constricted.

"I think you ramble too much," were the first words out of her mouth. She thought he'd be angry but he only laughed.

"It helps to fill in every detail. Things make more sense when you have the whole story. By the way, I'm the reason your car stopped working." Rose stared, not wanting to believe that Adrian played a hand in everything that happened in her life recently. "I had to keep tabs on you more easily and what better way than to have my driver let you know where you were at every minute of everyday."

Rose spoke without acknowledging Adrian's admission.

"You know what doesn't make sense? Two things actually, why you did all of this for someone who clearly doesn't want you, and believe me I know when someone doesn't want someone else, and why you think this plan of yours worked. I'm still here. I never intended to get in the way of some twisted love affair between you and Tasha. If she really wanted you she would've left Dimitri a long time ago. She was never going to leave him."

Adrian seems struck silent for the first time. Her words must've hit home.

She expects another hit, a slap, for him to yell at her. But of course, he only laughs, casually again.

"I've come to that same conclusion myself. It was about her love at first and then over time, somehow it became about the principal of the thing. I've won for this long, I wasn't going to lose now. It was actually a few days before our weekend getaway that I realised all of this. That was when I decided I'd had enough and unfortunately for you, you were on the receiving end of my frustration."

Rose remembered and trembled.

"I decided then that I was going to keep you. If Tasha could have someone else on the side then so could I, a play thing so to speak. Needless to say she didn't react to well. My actions meant you'd been sticking around more often which was good for me because your presence got a rise out of Tasha. I proposed a deal: she leaves Dimitri and I'd leave you. Simple as that. Again, needless to say she refused, complained about my impatience."

"So I guess I'm stuck with you?" Rose asked dryly wanting nothing more than to lay down, feeling exhausted.

"You guess correctly," Adrian exclaims elated. "We were fine until you decided to take Tasha's place as the damsel in distress and allow Dimitri to rescue you, making him the acclaimed hero but it doesn't work that way in this game. One of the rules is that you can't change character roles."

"I wouldn't call me, being bruised from head to toe, fine."

"It's better than being dead, isn't it," Adrian said raising his gun a little higher.

Rose swallowed past the dryness in her throat. There was a soft knock on the door. Stan appeared a moment later, still wearing his driver's uniform, dark sunglasses, hat and all.

"She's up," he announced. Rose thought that he was referring to herself, stating the obvious.

Adrian smiled. "Good. Bring her in."

Stan disappeared and just as quickly reappeared. Rose found herself leaning to see who it was Stan was bringing in.

"Tasha," she gasped, more than surprised. Stan sat her in the chair Adrian had been in moments before. Adrian tugged Rose to the edge of the bed so that her knees were brushing Tasha's. The other woman didn't look so good herself. She wore a clingy black dress, pantyhose, and a pair of dark pumps. Her hair was tousled, almost hiding a dark lump on her forehead.

Rose suddenly realised that they were in Dimitri and Tasha's house, in their bedroom. She could see the blank walls of the hallway from where she was sitting.

She felt weird seeing Tasha. Everything that had happened to her in the last three months was because of this woman, and now she was here, in the flesh, in just as compromising of a position as Rose was.

Adrian squatted beside Tasha, moving a bit of hair out of hair face.

"You know I'd never physically hurt you but I'm sorry to say I can't say the same for Stan. He just gets carried away sometimes."

Tasha flinched but couldn't speak. She had a gag covering her mouth. Adrian signaled Stan to remove it and she spoke immediately, her glassy blue eyes never once leaving Adrian's face.

"How could you do this? We had a good plan-"

"Exactly. _Had _a good plan. It's come to my attention though that only one of us seems to be benefitting from our arrangements," Adrian says business like. "Nothing is working out as it should be."

"And it's her fault!" Tasha shouted staring at Rose.

Rose didn't even bother responding. She went numb a few moments ago. It was all too much for her. The big revelation, her head's pounding, the cold that ran through her body. It was too much.

"...we're here now. You have both of us. Now what? Are you bringing Dimitri in too?"

Rose realised Tasha didn't know. She wasn't aware of everything Adrian was doing on his own.

"Dimitri's probably dead," Rose said, feeling more alert and a little drained at the same time. She wanted to fall back onto the bed tiredly but she didn't think Adrian would approve but by this point she was caring less and less about how Adrian would feel. She just wanted to sleep.

Tasha stared at her unblinkingly. "You're lying." She looked at Adrian for confirmation but he smiled.

"She's actually pretty truthful compared to you and I. Your beloved is probably dead. I mean, not too many police patrol that area, not this early in the morning, and people usually turn the other way when it comes to witnessing a crime. The clinic doesn't open for another few hours so I guess we have the perfect murder."

"That was never apart of the plan! You said you'd never hurt him! You promised!"

"Promises are made to be broken."

"So what are you going to do with us now?" Rose asked, concerned about whether or not she could just sleep and see where the darkness takes her.

"I've thought about that and Stan and I have decided that we've been playing the good guys for a while now. I think we've earned the right to have a little bit of fun."

"And what happens when the police come looking for me. Lissa will notice I'm gone and Ivan knows about everything, so does Evan and Christian."

Tasha's eyes seemed to widen at the mention of her nephew's name. She had never thought about what would happen if her plans fell through.

"We've thought of this too. I mean, we can't kill you all. That would definitely be suspicious. So we thought we'd go all out, take a few more risks. We're going to frame you or you for the murder of your shared lover. We haven't decided which one to frame yet. The betrayed widow who caught her betrothed cheating on her with another woman, Rose. She snaps, easily believable with her history of insanity and depression and out bursts, killing Dimitri, Rose, and then herself."

Adrian turned to Rose, grinning. "Or should we frame you? You have a troubled past, you couldn't take the fact that Dimitri was never going to leave his wife for you and he abused you, pushing you to your breaking point, and you decided to kill him, his wife and then yourself. EIther scenario plays out pretty nicely, don't you both think? I didn't even really have to do anything."

Tasha was stunned, her mouth agape. "You went through all of this for me and you're going to kill me now?" Her voice crack with disbelief. Rose wondered if she spent the entire time thinking this story would have a happy ending.

Adrian leans toward her as if he's about to kiss her. "We had some good times and some bad times but it's just not working out between us anymore. I have a career to focus on now and the start of a new love life." He pecks on the cheek, stopping one of the tears running down her cheeks.

Rose was surprised she herself wasn't crying anymore. She'd shed enough tears. Now she just wanted it to be over.

"Lissa and Ivan would never let you get away with this. They'll tell what really happened."

"With what proof?" Adrian said amused. "Your cell phones have been destroyed, your pasts explain it all. I'm a pretty powerful man with a bit of influence. They'll want to believe the heart-broken cousin and nephew and best friend but they'll actually believe the broken-hearted and wounded boyfriend who tried to help and prevent anyone else from being hurt but who only survived with a gunshot wound to the arm."

Rose couldn't believe it.

Lissa, Ivan, and Evan could fight tooth and nail to prove Adrian was guilty but it wouldn't help. Adrian would get away with this and there would be nothing they could do unless she survived.

She had wanted it all to be over before, but she couldn't leave Lissa like that, and the truth about Dimitri's death had to be revealed. She was raised to run and hide instead of taking risks by fighting back but that had to change. No more running or hiding.

She had to live...even when she didn't want to.

Her hands weren't bound and the door of the bedroom was open. All she had to do was get away. Adrian was kneeling in front of Tasha, talking in hushed whispers. Stan stood stiff, leaning against the wall by the door. Rose remembered his strength when he'd grabbed her before and worried that she'd never get by him. She had landed a blow to his arm though before. If she hit it again maybe, just maybe, she could get away.

She wouldn't spend another moment thinking about it.

She'd spent enough time here already.

She had to act.

Before she could think about it anymore, she moved. She stood up in one fluid motion, ignoring the ache of her body, moving purely with the need to get away and a bit of adrenaline, elbowed Adrian in the stomach, where she'd been able to hit him before. He grunted and let go of the gun in his hand falling backward onto the floor. Stan was already moving toward her. She aim for the arm she'd hit before but he was quick to block her.

His fists hit either side of her face twice before she fell back herself on the ground.

Adrian recovered, kicking Rose in her side.

She flailed blindly, hoping to hit any vital body part she could. It must have work because someone grunted. Adrian had a hold of her arms and she was sure it was Stan's job to go for her legs but her foot had struck his face.

Rose could feel her adrenaline pumping but being held down, with nothing to do with it, she was starting to feel the pain in her body again.

"feisty. Usually an attractive trait but not now," Adrian breathed into her mouth.

Rose could feel both of his hands on her and she wondered when the gun went.

"Stan! Stop holding your face and get over here!" Rose was able to see that she'd kicked his sunglasses far enough into his face to cause a big enough gash on his face that he was screaming and shouting in pain.

She thought about the gun again and as if on cue, it appeared...in Tasha's hands. She had it aimed at Adrian.

_Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, _Rose couldn't help thinking.

"Enough!"

Adrian's hold on Rose didn't loosen. He laughed. "Now you have the guts to do something daring, to leave your safe zone and it's when you want to shoot me? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Rose was fearful of where this left her.

Would Tasha use this as a chance to get rid of the one thing in her way of Dimitri. For the moment she seemed focused on Adrian.

"No one else is going to get in the way of Dimitri and me! Not even you! And Especially not you!" She shouted first to Adrian and then to Rose.

She guessed she had her answer. Her life was still on the line.

Stan had recovered a bit, but Tasha was quick and he was weakened, distracted by his pain, and he fell to the floor after she'd released a shot into his chest. A red stain was starting to spread over his white dress shirt.

Tasha didn't focus on him long. Adrian had started to try to stand completely, with Rose held firmly to his chest, to block any shots Tasha shot off, she guessed. He was on his knees with Rose in front of him when Tasha turned back around.

"You think that you can get rid of me! You thought it'd be that easy!" Her hand was shaking. Rose could see the cold hatred and maybe fear in her eyes. "You thought wrong! I'm the one with the power here and I say that this is over. You're a liability now."

Rose closed her eyes, waiting for the gunshot to come. Instead, Adrian shoved her quickly aside and dove straight for Tasha. Rose guessed it was because of his own control issues. If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting, because it was his own choice.

She didn't dwell on this too long.

They tumbled around ont he floor, each one striking out the other, trying to reach the gun that had skidded across the bedroom floor. Rose take that as her chance to lave but she couldn't risk leaving Adrian and Tasha here, alive, giving them a chance to come after her. She leaped over the bed and grabbed the gun. Adrian had Tasha pinned and looked up, where Rose was standing, holding the gun with both hands.

"You shot him," she whispered. "You killed Dimitri."

Adrian seemed to realised it wasn't going to be as easy to tackle Rose, not with Tasha wanting to get at him too. She was struggling under his hold.

Adrian had nothing to say.

There was nothing to say.

It was over.

All she had to do was pull the trigger.

The gun went off with one gentle squeeze.

Everything from then on moved in slow motion, as if she were underwater. Tasha shrieked, Adrian fell slowly to the floor landing with an echoing thud, Stan's body flinched and trembled on the floor before stopping completely.

Tasha moved to lean over Adrian, crying. Rose didn't stay long enough to see how long Tasha would cry over the man who had planned to kill her moments before. She left the room and the house with the gun in her hand.

She kept asking herself why she didn't Tasha too but she couldn't come up with an answer.

She had a million images flashing through her mind, all of them starting with Rose as a young girl, looking at her mother that last time, and then Lissa running alongside her at the funeral, her aunt Rhea, Lissa and Christian together, Mia, Ivan, the nightmares, Tasha, Stan, and Adrian. The last two images were of Dimitri and then just Rose again, as a child.

Everything still moved slowly and quietly.

The scream of a woman walking her dog in the early morning hours of the rising sun spotting the gun, the police car that pulled along side her telling her to stop walking and to drop the weapon, all happened so slowly. Rose kept walking. She had to go back. She had to see Dimitri one last time. Even if he wasn't still there, she had to be in the last place she'd been with him.

She finally ended up in front of the clinic.

Why the police car let her get this far she didn't know. She was aware of the fact that they were trailing slowly behind her slow pace but she didn't care. The glass of the clinic's front windows and doors was still broken in, scattered inside and outside on the sidewalk. There were obvious pools of blood on the ground but no Dimitri. Someone must've found him.

She walked through the police tape, standing beside the largest blood stain on the sidewalk. The gun dropped from her hands. She fell to her knees and finally cried.

She lost the first person in the world, besides Liss who really loved and wanted her.

She closed her eyes and cried.

When she opened her eyes again her head was in somebody's lap, fingers running through her hair and whoever it was, was talking in hushed whispered to someone beside her.

"Liss?" rose managed to speak. She sat up and her cousin gasped before hugging her.

"Rose! I'm so glad you're okay! I can't believe all of this is happening, it's like a scene from a movie or something. I was so worried, I think I called every police station in town...and a few hospitals before I found you."

Rose looked around. They were in a hospital waiting room. Her head still hurt but the full pain in her body was gone.

Lissa noticed Rose's confusion and explained. "The police found you wandering the streets with a gun in your hand. You collapsed in front of the clinic. They brought you here and the hospital already took care of you."

"Then why are we here?"

"Dimitri's in surgery," Ivan said. Rose noticed for the first time that he'd been sitting across from them. His eyes were rimmed red and his brother sat beside him. Christian was next to Lissa, rubbing at the sleep in his eyes.

"He was shot in his side and he has a serious concussion to the head," he elaborated."

"He survived," she breathed.

"I found him in front of the clinic. My instincts told me that Adrian wouldn't let you go so easily and I should go to the clinic and I found him lying there. I worked on him the entire ride to the hospital before they told me to wait here."

She could see blood, Dimitri's blood on Ivan's shirt.

She turned away not wanting to see it anymore.

She looked toward Christian and wondered if he knew, if any of them knew.

"Chris-" she started but he held up a hand stopping her.

"Not now Rose. I just... I need to deal with all of this."

Lissa gave her a sympathetic glance. They all knew what happened. "Someone heard the gunshots from Dimitri's house and they found Adrian and Stan. The police want to question you later."

"What about Tasha?"

"They're looking for her now."

Rose nodded. She spotted a few police officers in the corner of the lobby, waiting, staring back at her.

"I'll talk them now. It'll pass the time a little."

She told them everything and when all the questions were done with she wondered if they believed her. She had her doubts after hearing Adrian's elaborate plan in her head.

Her biggest worries were Tasha, who the police said they're "doing their best to find" and Dimitri. Hours passed before a doctor came out to tell them all that Dimitri was out of surgery and that he could have visitors.

Ivan and Evan went first.

"I don't want to see him right now. I can't..." Christian said to Lissa. She nodded. "We can go if you want. Are you alright here Rosie?"

Rose nodded.

She wanted...needed to be alone.

Her cousin hugged her fiercely and then they left, Christian not glancing back at her once.

Ivan and Evan came out after a while, smiling slightly.

"He's fine but it's going to take time to heal," Ivan explained. "He wants to see you."

Rose nodded not moving from her spot in the waiting room chair.

"Probably before visiting hours end," Evan added.

She nodded again.

"We have to get home to two very confused girlfriends so we'll check in on you later." Ivan kissed the side of her cheek reassuringly before they left Rose alone. It was late afternoon now.

The hospital was alive with staff and visitors and patients but Rose was in her own quiet world trying to muster up the courage to go to Dimitri's room.

She found herself standing a while later, unsure of why she was so hesitant and reluctant to see him. Questioning herself the entire way, playing with the bandages on her arm, she found herself in front of Dimitri's room. The door was closed and she couldn't seem to bring herself to open it.

"You can go in," a nurse told her, walking by.

When Rose didn't say anything, or give a reason for why she was standing in the middle of the hallway, the nurse smiled gently, and nudged her toward the door. She probably had enough experience with reluctant visitors. She opened the door and nudged Rose further inside.

"I found her outside the door just standing there. I figured she'd make more progress if she actually went in," the nurse explained playfully before leaving the two of them alone, the door shut behind her.

Dimitri was propped up on two pillows, reclined back. He looked so wounded and hurt, wrapped in tight bandages. His skin was as bruised and scratched as Rose's was.

"Come here," he told her gently. She took slow steps and it seemed like an eternity before she made it to the side of his bed. She wanted to reach out and put a hand over his heart. I would've been easy, since he was shirtless, but she feared hurting him.

Dimitri, catching her staring at the bandages, spoke. "They didn't bother with a hospital gown since it hurt too much to pull one on. Not to mention my status as a doctor meant I didn't have to look silly in one and lose all my manhood," he joked.

Rose blinked. She found her hand hovering over his bandaged side.

"It doesn't hurt now, I'm more medicated than the lions at the zoo." She let her hand fall onto the wound. She moved it inch by inch up his chest until it rested over his heart.

"You know what I've been thinking."

Dimitri seemed relieved to hear her voice at last.

"I should've been worried about you and getting home to Lissa, and how everyone else would feel when they found out about everything that happened but I didn't think about those things. I kept thinking that I just wanted everything to be over and then I couldn't stop thinking about how I shot Adrian but I couldn't bring myself to hurt Tasha because she was kind of like me..."

"You're not a killer. That's why you didn't kill Tasha."

Rose was starting to break down, ignoring Dimitri's words, she went on. "She just wanted somebody, you, to love her and she was trying to do anything to have you and when I shot Adrian I was doing the same thing, doing anything to see you again."

She was crying full-out now and she felt like she couldn't stop. Her chest trembled, and her tears felt like they'd never stop falling. But she didn't have to stop crying now. Dimitri was there, holding her against his chest, rubbing small familiar circles into her back, telling her it was alright and that it was all over now.

And for that moment...it was.


	43. Chapter 43: Dimitri

**_Dimitri_**

Rose slept so long, soft and sound, the doctors feared it was because of a concussion.

For a moment Dimitri worried that she'd never wake up.

This scared him the most because he didn't want his last memories of Rose to be of her upset and crying. He'd be grateful to have any memory of Rose but he'd prefer it if it was a happy one. His favorite so far all included times she was smiling or laughing but his number one favorite was of the last night they'd spent together. If he could have one moment of his life back and relive it over and over again it would be that night...before they were attacked.

He already spent so much time in the hospital thinking about it, wishing he and the girl who has slept for two and a half days on and off beside him were anywhere but there.

He tried not on those thoughts too much figuring it could be worse. He could've died and would've never seen Rose again.

As if sensing the mention of her name, she stirred for the first time in a long while, sending waves of relief through Dimitri when she did. She was too still beside him, almost as if she was too afraid to even sleep wildly for fear of hurting him.

Dimitri had to struggle by himself to pull Rose onto his hospital bed. Even while she was crying she was worried about "hurting you anymore than i already have". Somewhere between her time spent away, forcibly, by Adrian and now, she'd gotten the idea into her head that everything was her fault. He held her for who knows how long, telling it she didn't do anything wrong but she wouldn't listen.

Dimitri couldn't figure out how things had gotten this far. A few months ago, his life had been simple but looking back now, knowing what both Adrian and Tasha did, nothing appears it seemed before. He knew Tasha had her problems but he never thought things were this bad... and as for Adrian...he didnt dwell on him too long either. By sheer force of will power he promised himself he'd focus on all of that later.

What was really important right now was laying on top of him, still asleep.

When the nurses had come in to tell her that visiting hours were almost over, the fearful look in Rose's eyes made Dimitri tighten his grip around her. She cried even harder, trembling and grabbing onto Dimitri asking him not to let her go.

He was so unfamiliar with this Rose it took him a moment to react or respond.

When he talked the nurses into letting her stay, Rose relaxed, curling closer into Dimitri's arms.

He stared down at her face now, unable to tell she'd been crying days before.

He wondered what would happen when he was finally able to leave the hospital. He knew the police, who'd stopped by twice already' wanted to know more about what happened, wanted to talked to the two of them again but he wanted to know what it'd belike even beyond that, when everything was over and they could go back to normal life.

Rose stirred beside him again, her eyes opening.

"I wasn't dreaming, was I?" she asked, her voice muffled against his chest.

"No, you weren't. Everything really happened." Dimitri told her wishing it werent true, wishing none of it was true.

She rubbed at her eyes and sat up, resting her head on the backs of her bandaged hands looking at Dimitri. A light blush covered her cheeks.

"I'm not usually like this...I hate being like this," she apologized.

"Like what?"

"Helpless, weak, needy," she listed.

Dimitri laid his head back against his propped up pillows. He remembered how forward and daring Rose had appeared to him when they met that day in the cafe. He remembered being grateful that she wasn't weak and clingy and his strength was one of the reasons he was attracted to her so much.

"Considering you rescued yourself, doing what you had to, to stay alive...I'd say you are far from weak," he reassured her.

"I didn't do it to stay alive," she said so low he wasn't sure he heard right.

"What do you mean?" He could hear the curiosty and confusion clear in his voice while he stroked Rose's back gently.

She sat up a little higher, her eyes not meeting his.

"You don't really know me, do you Dimitri. I mean, you know a little bit about me, like my favorite colors and foods and what I'm allergic to but you don't really know about what I was like as a kid."

Dimitri couldn't see where she was going with this. He wondered if this was the affect of having shot someone.

He didn't say anything, letting her continue uninterrupted. She sat up beside Dimitri, running her hands through her tangled hair, a habit she had when she was nervous. Dimitri suddenly remembered a time when she was nervous and was about to run her hands through her hair and was frustrated when she realised it was in a ponytail.

Her hair hung on one side of her face, obscuring Dimitri's view of her.

"If you ask Lissa, she'll tell you I was the reckless one, ready and willing to do anything so long as it benefitted me. I figured I didn't have anything to lose. The only one I had to care about was me." She was smiling to herself sadly. Dimitri could hear it in her voice. "I evenconvinced her to go out on this double date once with these two pervs who kept their hands everywhere but to themselves so I could get a hold of a good liquor stash," she laughed without any humor.

"You're not like that now. Obviously you've changed. I've only known you for a few months and I can tell how much Lissa means to you." Dimitri's words didn't seem to get through to her.

She shook her head. "I'm still the same. It's just less obvious, I hide it well." She paused staring down at nothing before looking up at a clock on the wall. "How long have I been asleep?"

"On and off for the past two days."

She sighed, looking as if she was trying to figure out how so much time had passed so quickly.

"When I was with Adrian...at your house... I was so convinced you were dead. I kept thinking about how you were the very first guy in the world who wanted me genuinely...and you were gone and taken away from me. I thought that if I did somehow survive all this, I'd be alone again. I figured it didn't matter if I lived or died unutil I realised Adrian was going to get away with hurting you and I couldn't let that happen...I wasn't going to let anyone get hurt while I did nothing...not again."

Dimitri's brows lowered. He was definately confused now. He wondered when someone else in her life had been hurt.

"I wasn't really thinking about Lissa or Ivan. I was thinking about how I couldn't die without Adrian dying too. He couldn't get away with it...so that's why I fought back...It wasn't because I was strong...it was more because of my pride."

He didn't know what to say. By the tone of her voice, he was sure that anything he said or did wouldn't convince her that she was wrong. _He _wasn't even sure that she was wrong.

He could kind of relate. his own pride was hurt when he realised he wasn't able to protect Rose the way he promised he would. He'd been taken down by Adrian of all people. Nothing wounded a man's pride more than losing in a fight.

"Rose, you're alright, I'm alright. That's what matters right now."

"Yeah? What about when the police want to talk to me again about what happened, and Christian, and how Lissa and everyone else will look at me when they know about everything that happened. What's going to matter then?" She was standing now, pacing Dimitri's bed side.

"They already know everything that happened and they know what you had to do and why. They understand," he tried to reassure.

"Then they're doing a lot better than I am right now because I don't understand any of it. I brought all of this on myself, I should've listened when you tried warning me, and I walk away from it all with a few scratches but you, you're in the hospital a-and Christian wouldn't even look at me, he has to deal with the fact that his aunt is insane, that I brought out the worst in her-"

"Rose!"

She froze, mid-pace and mid-monolougue.

"None of it is your fault. Your confused and your hurt because you had to take a life and we understand that but it's going to take time to get back to normal."

Rose shook her head. "I didn't have to take his life."'

"Rose, he would've killed you."

"Maybe he should've. Things would make a lot more sense and I wouldn't have to deal with all of this."

Dimitri couldn't believe what he was hearing but he understood. The police had warned him that it would take time for her to cope with having to shoot someone, especially her abuser.

All he could do was be there for her.

He was grateful that his arms were long enough to reach out and grab a hold of Rose's arm pulling her toward him. He traced a line from the edge of her lips to the top of her hairline before kissing her.

She sighed against his mouth, shuddering, her body trembling. She only slightly kissed him back but the fall of her tears made her pull away, ending their kiss quicker than Dimitri would've liked.

He pressed his lips against Rose's forehead and they stayed there for a moment in silence, just the two of them together.

* * *

"Knock, knock."

Dimitri looked up from the sports magazine Ivan had dropped off earlier.

_"I was going to being porn but the nurses said it'd be a risk to your blood pressure...and yoour girlfriend might not be too pleased to see you reading it so they traded me," Ivan explained._

_"Thanks," Dimitri laughed. _

_"Don't mention it. I hope this shows how much I care about you, willing to give up my porn stash for your health."_

_"You're a saint," Diimitri said dryly._

_Ivan shrugged. "I try. porn usually has the opposite affect on me. It's my medicine."_

_"For what exactly?"_

_"Anything. From headache to horniness."_

_Dimitri laughed._

He laughed to himself now, remembering. It was the first time he'd really laughed while being in the hospital.

Lissa stood in the doorway, leaning in to see if Dimitri was awake.

"Hey, Lissa. Come in," he gestured.

She walked in quietly, carefully, making sure she didn't wake Rose who'd fallen asleep again.

Dimitri had only met Rose's cousin a handful of times but each time he did, he couldn't help but notice how calm she always seemed, not counting the last time he'd seen her. He also saw a few shared characteristics between the two cousins. Lissa fiddled with her long platinum blonde hair the same way Rose did and even wore a bright, silk scarf he'd seen hanging out of Rose's purses a few times.

She set down a small bag she was carrying. "I brought her some clothes. I figured she'd be staying here for a while. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty okay considering all the drugs I'm on."

"I'm glad to hear that." Her attention focused on Rose.

"Is she alright?"

"She's been sleeping mostly," Dimitri told her. He didn't want to worry Lissa by mentioning Rose's dark mood but he couldn't stop himself from asking. "Can I ask you something?"

Lissa sat in a chair on Rose's side of the hospital bed. She held her cousin's hand, looking at her sleeping face. "Anything."

Dimitri took a deep breath before speaking. "Rose mentioned something a few hours ago, something about not wanting to stand by while someone else got hurt, not wanting to see it happen again. Do you know what she was talking about?"

Lissa's calm, serene face turned uncomfortable. She squirmed in her chair.

"I would've asked her but considering everything she's been through, I didn't want to push it in case it was something bad," he added.

She didn't say anything, fiddling with the sleeve of Rose's sweater, as if she didn't hear.

"Lissa, I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it would help Rose right now. She's been feeling really bad, not herself considering everything that's happened. I want to help her but I can't if I don't know everything that's going on with her and she won't let me in."

Lissa's expressioned softened and she pursed her lips in the same way Rose did. Dimitri found this odd seeing as they were cousins and not sisters.

"I won't tell you everything because it's Rose's story to tell and her choice to tell you."

Dimitri nodded, understanding.

"Rose is very...tough and agressive...usually, in case you haven't noticed."

"It's hard to ignore."

Lissa smiled. "Yeah. she hasn't always been that way. She actually use to be the calm, level headed one and I was the daring, dare-devil, rebel."

"I find that hard to beileve."

Lissa gave her soft smile again, continuing. "If you knew what our family has been through it'd be really easy to believe...let's just say Rose haslost two families and honestly...it's a miracle she's even here now."

Dimitri still didn't fully understand but he knew Lissa was right, this story had to be told to him by Rose if she wanted to. By the sad look in Lissa's eyes he wasn't going to push her into telling him.

He thought about reaching out to comfort her with maybe a pat on the hand or something but he wasn't sure how. It had come easy to him when it was Rose, someone he'd become one with. Thinking back, he realised comforting others had never been easy for him...until Rose.

He settled for comforting words instead.

"She's lucky to have you."

Lissa's sad look in her eyes disappeared and she smiled so similar to Rose he looked beside him to make sure it was her cousin sitting in front of him.

"Well, I'm gonna let you two get some rest. I'll come and visit Rose later." she stood up and paused a moment before tugging the scarf from around her neck off and wrapping it around Rose's hand. "You'll need this," Dimitri heard her whisper to her cousin before she leaned down to give Rose a quick kiss on the cheek, Dimitri a silent wave goodbye, and she left.

* * *

"Is it possible to be tired of sleeping?"

Dimitri looked up from the book he was reading over at Rose beside him. Her eyes were still closed and her back was to him but he could hear a slight smile in her voice.

"For someone who's been in and out of it for days on end? I think it's very fact, about a few hours ago I diagnosed you with a serious sleeping disorder."

She laughed quietly still not rolling over.

She moved her arm, about to turn over, when she spotted the scarf around her wrist and in her hand.

She sat up slowly, looking at it confused before exhaling. "Lissa was here."

"She came by earlier," Dimitri anwsered although it wasn't really a question. Rose rubbed her hands along the soft fabric for a while. "She said you might need that."

Rose didn't speak for a moment, touching the scarf. "It won't help...not this time." She balled up the scarf tossing it at her feet. Still not looking at Dimitri she asked, "She told you, didn't she?"

"Nothing in detail. She just said you haven't had it easy."

Rose breathed deeply, laying her head back against the pillow again.

"I'm being punished."

"Rose I told you before, none of this was your fault," Dimitri tried to reassure. He set his book aside on the bedside table.

"You sound like Lissa. She use to say that same thing to me," she said not really taking in his words.

He waited patiently for her to tell him herself without prodding.

"She use to say 'none of this was your fault, Roses. You didn't have a choice.' I still think she's wrong," she laughed without any humor. "I could've helped or at least tried to-"

Her words were cut off by Dimitri holding her closer in his arms as she cried. "It's okay. You don't have to," he tried to soothe her. "It's alright. Everything will be okay."

It was everything he'd said to her when he first saw her standing there in his hospital room doorway looking more fragile than he'd ever seen her.

Despite his reassurances, he wasn't sure how much he believed his own words.

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry! I knowI said (promised) no more author's notes but I had to apologize. I meant to start a pattern by putting up at least 1 to 2 chapters every weekend, and they're already typed out (actually I have four chapters typed out), but a few changes had to be made so they weren't ready but I thought I'd put this one up until saturday (or as early as friday). Thanks for the reviews and just reading my story (and my rambling).**_

_**Oh and I wanted to say that I know I have other open stories on here and I will finish them (which I'm sure a lot of authors say) but I didn't realise it would be so difficult updating more than one story (and when you're fanfic obsessed as I am you end up with multiple stories). Not to mention I don't want all my stories to end up the same way (although it seems that wayanyway) I'll finish those once I end this one (which will be soon). Anyways,**_

_**lots of love,**_

_**ladierock**_


	44. Chapter 44: Rose

**_Rose_**

_Janine froze at the sound of the front door slamming shut. _

_"He's home early," she whispered to herself._

_Rose could hear the familiar sound of her father's car keys being tossed onto the table in the hallway. She usually stood at the end of the stairs hoping to get a hello from him or maybe a glance. _

_The unfamiliar look in her mother's eyes...fear...told her not to move. She'd had that look a lot lately, and she'd been crying. Last night it had been bad and this morning it had been even worse._

_Rose, still young and not really sure what was going on, noticed the change in her mother. The more her father yelled, the quieter Janine became, the more she cried when he wasn't around. _

_This wasn't the first time Janine had become like this, and it usually took a phone call or a visit to aunt Rhea to calm her down and bring her back to normal. Rose remembered even having to go to the hospital with her aunt and her cousin so "your mommy can get better," as aunt Rhea would tell her when Rose asked what she was sick with._

_She remembered waiting in the waiting room holding her mother's favorite silk scarf in her hands to have a piece of her with her. She held onto that scarf a lot recently. When Janine was too tired to get out of bed, Rose would sit beside her and lay back holding onto the scarf he mother untied from around her own neck to wrap around her daughter._

_Rose remembered her mother telling her that her father had bought it for her a long time ago and that it would be hers someday in case she wasn't around, she'd always have a part of her. _

_This was the longest she'd been like this._

_Rose hated it. _

_Janine wouldn't speak or really acknowledge her daughter unless it was to quietly tell her to go play until bed or to give her some time to rest. Sometimes she'd push her away and would yell and ignore her the way her father did only to be so nice later on pretending it had never happened. It always started with her father yelling about anything and everything when he came home. More recently it had been because of something her mother had said._

_Rose had listened this time, wanting to know for once what was going on. Her mother threatened to leave and take Rose away with her. Rose didn't think her father would mind that since he ignored her all of the time anyway but he was angry and said he had more power than she did and that they'd never be able to leave only if they died._

_Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing and the next morning told herself it was just a bad dream, that she didn't really understand and must have misunderstood. _

_"Mommy-" she started but her mother rushed in front of her, putting her hand over her mouth._

_"Climb under the bed and stay quiet," she whispered._

_Rose thought of all of the times they'd played hide and seek, and she'd hidden under the bed, and smiled nodding. She still wasn't sure what was going on but it couldn't be too bad if they were going to play a game. _

_She thought that things were going to get back to normal like they always did after her parents had a fight. It made her less scared of how loud the yelling had been and it made her mom happy and smiling so big and beautifully that she couldn't even see the bruises on her face._

_Her mother pulled her into a tight hug and pressed her lips to her forehead for long time, kissing both of her cheeks afterward before letting go. _

_"I love you, sweets. You know that right? I'd do anything for you."_

_She was speaking in Turkish, the way she did when she was angry or excited. She seemed so scared now._

_Rose nodded. She wasn't sure how to respond in the language so she stuck with english. "I love you too, mommy."_

_"No matter what happens, remember that, alright?"_

_Rose nodded._

_Janine nodded along with her daughter and quickly motioned Rose under the bed. __The sound of the footsteps on the stairs made Rose scurry quicker to be hidden beneath the flower patterned comforter._

_The last sight Rose saw before sliding beneath the bed was of her mother's bright scarf. She wished she had grabbed it before hiding under the bed._

_She heard her parent's voice's soft at first and then louder. The door to her room was forced open, slamming against the wall._

_"You were leaving! You were just going to be weak and run!"_

_Her father's voice was loud, as it usually was when he was angry. _

_Both of her parent's spoke in Turkish, her father because he was angry and her mother because she was afraid. It made sense to Rose now. For a long time, her mother use to tell Rose that it wasn't safe living with her dad and that someday they'd go someplace safe...a permanent sleepover at Aunt Rhea's and cousin Lissa._

_All the bags that her mother was packing meant that they were going to leave...today...without saying goodbye to her father._

_She listened to her mother cry out and a loud thud. She dared to peek out and saw her mother forced against a wall, her father's hands had a tight grip around her neck._

_He was hurting her._

_She covered her mouth with her hand to keep from crying out. She wanted to run and hold on to her mommy and tell her dad not to hurt her anymore but as always she did as she was told and she stayed where she was._

_She was too scared. She'd never seen him this angry before. He reminded her of all the bad guys in the early morning cartoons she watched._

_She watched her father's arms and hands and legs strike out so quickly she was surprised to see her mother laying on the floor of the hallway, weeping. _

_She didn't even see her fall._

_She couldn't bear toe look anymore and close her eyes, listening to the horrific sounds she'd never forget. _

_It seemed to go on forever until her father stopped. She finally looked up and he looked so frightening and scary, Rose wasn't even sure it was her dad. She didn't want it to be her dad._

_She cried silently, replaying her mother's words in her head._

_Her words seemed so loud that before Rose knew it, it was silent. She doesn't know how long she waited until she dared to crawl out from under the bed. She froze at the sound of the front door slamming shut. She paused for a long time, trembling, her tears still fresh, the light outside fading dark. She waited and moved again pulling herself out from under the bed._

_She wasn't sure where to go until she heard the cries. They were soft, barely above a whimper. She heard the clattering of thing falling over. _

_Rose hurried down the stairs forgetting about her father. _

_She guessed he had left. _

_She hoped he had left._

_She searched around unsure of where the cries were coming from but she knew for sure it was her mother, without a doubt. _

_She stood at the bottom of the stairs listening. She searched the entire house but the cries sounded louder in the main hallway but they'd stopped a moment ago and Rose didn't know where to look anymore. _

_She walked to the main hallway again, her head down, ready to cry again. She stepped on something that crunched under her foot, a pen. She saw a shadow fall across the floor from the moonlight that came through the window. The house was dark and Rose was getting scared. She just wanted her mommy. _

_She took another step to pick up the paper under the pen. She knew enough to be able to read what was written on it in her mother's familiar script:_

**_My sweetest Rose, I love you and I'm sorry._**

_Rose shook her head, unable to understand what her mother was talking about._

_She stepped back from the frightening shadow and followed to where it was coming from, the paper falling from her hand, until her eyes rested on the silk scarf...around her mother's neck..._

Rose stopped her story, her words smothered by the hug Dimitri pulled her into, or tried to.

She pulled away, not one tear falling from her eyes.

"She said she loved me but she left me. My aunt Rhea said it was because she couldn't protect me any more from my father, that he would be able to take me away just to punish my mom just for getting pregnant and "trapping him in marriage" in the first place," Rose explained.

"I guess that's what happens when you have old-fashioned families with old-fashioned values," she said dryly.

"I understand," Dimitri said simply, and Rose could see that he did.

She was curious but her own story was playing in her head right now, filling the room with dark feelings.

He reached to hold her hand in a firm grip so that she couldn't easily let go. She felt her own fingers squeeze back, the burning of tears stinging her eyes.

She didn't want to cry anymore though. She had enough pain and sorrow and she definitely didn't want to think about her mother anymore.

For now, she'd forget, she'd ignore the trembling feeling that she might burst with so much sadness that made her feel unsteady, and hold on to the one thing in her life that felt sturdy for the moment.

She held on to Dimitri.

* * *

_**A/N: Rambling chapter I wasn't sure made snese but I hoped you all liked! :D**_


	45. Chapter 45: Dimitri

_**Dimitri: April** _

"You did what?"

Dimitri stared at his friend as if it were the very first time he'd ever really looked at Ivan and honestly he didn't recognize him because he looked so...happy.

His announcement made Dimitri forget the pain in his side for a moment.

"We eloped."

Ivan held up his left hand to show the thick golden ring on his finger.

"This medication I'm on to help witht he pain must be pretty strong because it sounded like you said you eloped."

Ivan laughed, light heartedly as if this wasn't supposed to come as a surprise to Dimitri. He rested his hands on both of Dimitri's shoulders looking him clean in the eyes. "I'm serious. Mia and I got married."

"Married?" Dimitri repeated as if the word were foreign to him.

"Yes, married. Tied the not," Ivan confirmed. "I don't know any other way to say it except maybe in russian and I know a little bit of spanish since we were married in Mexico but-"

Dimitri held up a hand to stop him. "You're serious."

Ivn nodded, giddy.

"Why?" It sounded so strange. Marriage itself was a weird concept.

He had to go through his own parent's bitter divorce and after everything with Tasha...the idea wasn't even in his mind. It carried no good connotation. If anything it seemed to ruin everything, at least in Dimitri's eyes but Ivan looked happy enough. And to make matters weirder was that it was _Ivan_,self proclaimed god's gift to women, who was married.

"Because I'm in love."

If that were enough to marry someone Dimitri would've married Rose a long time ago.

"I think it takes a little more than that," Dimitri chuckled still disbelieving. "I mean, you're tied down to that person for the rest of your life, sharing everything...unless you have two very good lawyers. You've known Mia for, what? Four months?"

Ivan stepped closer. "It's hard to explain. People have gotten married after knowing each other only a few hours-"

"And a couple of drinks," he interrupted.

Ivan went on. "Britney Spears did it!"

"She's your golden example?" Dimitri asked quirking a brow.

"You're right. Not the best example." Ivan thought for a moment before saying, "I thought you of all people would at least kind of understand with you and Rose and all."

He was right.

Dimitri should've understood but they way his and Rose's relationship started wasn't exactly conventional. The feelings were still the same though.

Ivan stepped closer toward Dimitri than Dimitri would've liked. "It was this moment where I looked into her...beautiful eyes-"

"You don't know what color they are do you?"

"This is true love here Dimitri, don't interrupt. I looked into her eyes and I decided, with everything going on, that I didn't want to wait anymore, there was no reason to. We just decided we were in love and that we would be together for however long we're together."

"That's beautiful," Dimitri couldn't help saying.

"Should I come back later?" Rose asked uncertainly walking into the house setting her bag and keys down on the table of the entry into their house.

Ivan and Dimitri looked at the close, uncomfortable position they were in and Ivan backed away from where Dimitri was propped up on the couch clearly his throat.

"There's a masculine sound," Rose announced. "Could there be any less testosterone in here?"

She walked over to Dimitri and handed him the medication she picked up at the pharmacy. He wouldn't be able to work for a few more days with the pain in his abdomen. He still couldn't believe he was shot. He'd always been aware that with a clinic in one of the worst parts of town he was a target for crime but actually being shot was something different entirely.

She also handed him a few of the westerns he'd asked for, smiling.

Dimitri took them gratefully, setting them aside for now. There wer ebigger things at hand.

"So are you going to tell me why you were flirting with my man or should I just be jealous?"

Ivan laughed nervously. "It wasn't what it looked like..."  
"Don't lie to her, Ivan. Our little secret is out now," Dimitri joked.

Ivan's face flushed briefly before he shrugged jokingly moving toward Dimitri trying to kiss him. He'd always been free about his sexuality but Dimitri appreciated when he wasn't this free.

Maybe it was better he was married to Mia now.

Rose laughed. "So seriously, what's going on?"

"Mia and I got married."

Rose laughed again. "Yeah right. Mia would've told me if she went insane and got-"

Rose stopped speaking when Ivan showed her a phto from his phone and the ringon his finger. She grabbed the phoen staring down at it.

"No way," she breathed. "Why?"

"Is everyone around here against marriage or is it just mine?"

"Both," Dimitri and Rose said together.

Ivan sighed before going into his story and explanation to Rose of why he and Mia got married.

"Because you're in love?" She asked for confirmation sounding very much like Dimitri.

"Yes."

"You're a doctor," she stated.

"Right..." he said uncertain where this was going.

"Shouldn't you have a smarter reason than that?" She laughed.

"Aren't you two a couple now? Shouldn't you two be happy about marriage and all that crap?"

"No," Dimitri and Rose said in unison.

They'd come to an unspoken understanding that they'd live in the moment and not really dwell on what their relationship held for the future, like marriage.

"I can't believe this," Rose breathed. "I'm going to call, Liss and tell her."

She stood up to grab her bag and take it up to her room.

Dimitri had unofficially moved in with Rose back into her and Lissa's former house. It felt weird that things were happening so quickly after their conversation about taking things slowy but he figured, under the circumstances, there wasn't any other option.

_"Is there someplace safe you're staying while you recuperate?" The doctor asked rolling in Dimitri's last hospital meal._

_Before Dimitri could even think to responde that he definately wasn't going back to his house and considered a hotel for a while Ivan walked into the room and Rose came out of the bathroom._

_"Well Dimitri has two options," Ivan said standing at the foot of his bed. "You can come and stay with me, where we'll be rich, handsome, bachelors together only you might hear a few starnge noises coming from my bedroom and walk in on a few things that will scar you for life. By the way man, if you stay with me and don't want to catch Mia and I in the nude, I suggest you check each room before walking in. The kitchen included," he offered. _

_"Or you can always stay with me. I'm prettier," Rose smiled dryly. It was among the first few times she really smiled. She'd been trying a lot since she'd told her story a few days ago._

_"Oh, if you want to go by pretty factor, I so win!" Ivan declared. _

_"If Dimitri stays with me, you won't have to have very awkward moments where Dimitri walks in on you and Mia intertwined on the kitchen floor."_

_"It would only be awkward for Dimitri and we'd be polite enough to ask if he wanted to join but you're right. It's more fun and flexible with two." Ivan looked down at his phone that pinged and smield to himself. "I'll see you two later," he said smiling to himsel fbacking out of the hospital room._

_"What's so funny? You find another position to fold yourselves into?" Rose asked._

_"Rose, there are always new positions but no I don't pick up that book until next week...and that's not why I'm smiling. I'll just see you two later." _

_Rose and Dimitri shared a look as he left with the nurse right behind him. _

_"Are you sure about me staying with? I mean, we talked about-"_

_"No really. I want you to. You're not staying in a hotel when there's perfectly enough space at my house...Not to mention I don't want to be there...alone," she swallowed._

_Dimitri could see that was harder for Rose to admit than it seemed. He grabbed a hold of her hand and pressed it to his lips, giving her his anwser._

_She squirmed a bit away from him as she had for a while now. Dimitri could practically feel the distance that was between them all of that time they'd been apart growing again. He couldn't blame her for her confused feelings and mixed signals so he didn't say anything. _

_These were times he wished he'd become a therapist instead of a ear, nose, and throat man. _

_The next day when Dimitri was finally released from the hospital, Rose gladly, almost excitedly, or as much excitement she could muster with the semi dark mood she'd been in for a while now, opened the front door of her house to let Dimitri in._

_Dimitri hadn't been inside before and should've been unsurprised by the interiors state. There were boxes, Rose's things brought by the police from Adrian's apartment, in a row blocking the main hall and the furniture was a skew and thrown in odd rooms: the couch in the kitchen, the microwaved on the floor to the downstairs bathroom. _

_Despite the disorder, Dimitri had never felt more at home. _

_It was better than the house he lived in before, that was for certain._

_"I didn't really have time to fix everything...or actually I guess I should be honest. I wasn't really up or redecorating and unpackin so I left everything where the police put it," she admitted._

_"It's okay, Rose. I understand. We'll do that together...when you're ready," Dimitri proposed._

_She gave, or tried to give, him a half-hearted smile, not really succeeding. She gave him a quick tour through the house, ending at one of the bedrooms at the end of the hall._

_"I know the doctor said that you really shouldn'tclimb up or down the stairs for a while but I can be your nurse and get you whatever you need and if I can't then your close enough to the stairs to get it yourself," she tried to smile again flicking on the light in the room._

_It was large, like all of the others in the house. _

_"Plus, this room has it's own bathroom, like mine, so that's cool and convenient too."_

_Dimitri hadn't really thought about the sleeping arrangements and he felt silly now for feeling weird and disappointed that he'd, subconsciously, expected himself to be sleeping with Rose, or at least in the same room with her and she was setting him up in a different room._

_Rose stood in the middle of the room noticing Dimitri's silence. A look of udnerstanding crossed her face when she realized why he was so quiet staring around the room with a large bed, a wide window, and a nice oak dresser with a TV set on top of it._

_"I t-thought about setting you up in my room but it's seriously not big enough and I don't really want to move away from my room right now...it feels safe after...after...after not being there for a while...i-it's just-"_

_Dimitri gently grabbed a hold of her hand. It seemed the only part of her that she'd let him hold lately. "Too soon. Roza, believe me I understand."_

_She shuddered, letting Dimitri squeeze her hand once more before pulling away, folding her arms against herself. _

_"Well...umm...I told Lissa I'd check in every once in a while since I told her I wasn't going to stay with her and Christian, avoiding complete awkwardness and falling back into the old habit of not being able to take care of myself...so I'm going to go call her and you...you can settle in. I'll call for take out. I'm sure you're sick of all that hospital food."_

_She was rambling, trying to leave the room, Dimitri could tell._

_"If food is what you can call it," Dimitri muttered._

_Rose tried smiling again at his lame attempt at a joke, backing toward the door. "I'll check on you later...I guess."_

_Dimitri set his bag down, letting Rose leave without another word. She needed time and he knew that. Patience was something knew to him when it came to his personal life. In all honesty, he just wanted everything to return to normal and for things to be okay again. Dimitri wasn't really use to not getting what he wanted so this was all new to him. He knew he had to wait and he was okay with that because she was worth the wait._

_He glance at his bag and tsarted pulling some of his clothes out and putting things away. _

_Ivan had offered to go to his house, correction, his former house, to grab Dimitri's necessary belongings for him until he figured otu what he was going to do long term. Until then, everything he needed, he could always buy. _

_The first thing on his list was to buy a few westerns. There was no better way to recover than with a few good westerns. _

_One of the perks of being a doctor, there was always saved up money for such emergencies. _

"So how are things here at Casa de Roza?" Ivan asked, interrupting Dimitri's memory.

"More predictable than your sudden elopement," Dimitri through at him.

"Good one," Ivan complimented.

Dimitri started to laugh but the pain in his side stopped him from doing so.

"How are you...really?" Ivan asked, seriously concerned about his best friend's well being.

Not wanting him to worry but unable to lie, Dimitri told him what he'd been unable to tell Rose. "The rest of the bullet has to be surgically removed soon. Getting shot isn't as fun as we thought it would be when we were kids," he tried laughing again and winced.

"One of the dangerous surgeries?"

"Fifty fifty because it's deep enough in there...close to the spine."

"Does Rose know?"

"Not yet."

"Not telling me is one thing but not telling her...right now...after all of this chaos that's been going on," he whispered almost angrily.

"Which is exactly why I didn't tell her yet. Too much to soon. A paralysis and life threatening surgery is the last thing we need in our already complicated and confusing...thing we have betweem us."

Ivan nodded, understanding. "Will the surgery hurt much? I might know more about it if I was smart enough to become a plastic surgeon, pained to stare at other people's flaws and examine breasts, like I planned instead of a clinical doctor where my best friend is shot," he joked dryly.

"It's supposed to stop the pain but it shouldn't hurt anymore than me not being your best man as we'd always planned," Dimitri said, successfully changing the subject.

"Look I know I promised you'd be my best man at my wedding if I ever tied the ball and chain around my foot but you can always through a belated bachelor party for me and fulfil your fun duties," he offered.

"Ooo, I guess your marriage is good for something afterall," Rose said walking back into the room. "A bachelor and a bachelorette party are not only fun but they give me a damn good reason to drink again. By the way, Lissa said she's going to castrate you for not convincing Mia that she should've had a proper wedding and that we should've been there."

Ivan made an amused face and waved her words away, filing any worries over Lissa's threat away.

"It feels weird planning a bachelor party for someone who's already married," Dimitri said.

"Why, it's no different than doing it if they weren't married. the only difference is the cracker jack box rings on their finger and the marriage license."

Ivan playfully shoved Rose off of the edge of the couch making her fall onto Dimitri while she laughed.

She froze for a moment touching her hand to her stomach and the other to her head.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri asked worriedly, touching her forehead.

She wore a pained expression for a moment before it passed and she seemed alright again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just felt weird all day. I just felt woozy after moving so much. I always get this way when I start coming down with something," she reassured him, gently resting Dimitri's hand on his lap giving him a smile.

The smile was nice but it didn't stop him form worrying.

"Well it's a good thing we're doctors. I'll give you a physical and make the sacrafice of getting sick," Ivan declared.

"I'm glad to see marriage hasn't affected your sense of sick sexual humor."

"Of course not!" he exclaimed.

"If anything it made it stronger," Dimitri noted. "Maybe one of us should check you out there or take you to the hospital-" he started to suggest but Rose was already shaking her head.

"I'm fine. I bought some Niquil. I'll drink it and it'll all go away. Now back to this party," she said changing the subject.

"Yes! Back to the party," Ivan exclaimed again excitedly.

Dimitri relented.

"I think it'd be easier if we just throw one big party. That way we could all celebrate together. We need a bit of fun after everything that's happened," Dimitri suggested, holding Rose's hand. She didn't seem to mind or notice the way she normally would've since she was still swiping back at Ivan.

"Like a belated engagment party."

"Sounds good to me...as long as it isn't any less wilder than an actual bachelor party," Ivan said. "Here, I'll call Mia...my wife...and see what she thinks," he said dialing.

"You think she's going to turn down a chance for a party? Your wife who works in bar? It's like you don't know her at all," Rose grinned.

Dimitri loved that Rose was smiling more today than she had the last week or so.

"Where is Mia anyway?"

"She said she had an outfit on hold at one of those adult play shops for if she ever got married and she went to get it. A surprise for me, I guess," he grinned beaming.

Rose and Dimitri made a disgusted face at each other while Ivan called Mia.

"Love it," Mia squealed from her end of the phone on speaker. "We're going to need alcohol that's strong enough so that you won't remember anything shameful from the night before. We'll need strippers, strippers are a given and possibly drugs. Nothing strong, just strong enough to make eveything feel so...fun," Mia listed.

"I'm down for strippers," Ivan agreed nodding.

"What would we order? Male or female strippers?" Dimitri asked confused.

"Transgender, androgenous, lesbian, gay, or old just to punish them for getting married without us there," Rose suggested.

"We're open to all of those options," Ivan responded as if it was the most natuaral thing in the world. "Or maybe the guest give each other lap dances," he winked jokingly at Dimitri.

At least, Dimitri hoped he was joking.

"Rose are you writing all of this down?" Mia shouted from the phone.

"Nope. You're punishment for not telling us you were getting married and do it so suddenly is that we get to plan the party while you two worry whether or not the strippers will be there."

Ivan's face fell, a bit unexcited, while they listened to the disappointment in Mia and Ivan's voices, "Aww..."

Rose and Dimitri laughed.

"Do we have a choice?"

"Nope," Dimitri and Rose said together.

"Fine," the newlyweds said disappointedly.

Rose grinned, standing to move toward the kitchen while Ivan hung up with Mia. "Good. I'm going to find a different take out place." She gave Ivan a hard pat on the shoulder. "Congrats. Despite my shock, disappointment, and my punishment for you two, I am happy."

They hugged briefly before Rose went into the other room.

"She seems better," he noted.

"She is," Dimitri said looking after her as she went.

"You think she's really just coming down with a cold or maybe stress or..." he suggested, raising his brows.

"Or...?"  
"Pregnant?"

"I doubt it's that last one. Rose would know if she's pregnant. She spent four months working in a clinic and she would've told me," Dimitri would've laughed if he wasn't so sure that she was hiding something from him, the same way he was hiding something from her. He hoped it wasn't stress and almosted started praying it was a cold.

"You need to tell her, man," Ivan said serious, bringing up their previous conversation. "About the surgery."

"I will. Just not now. Things are okay right now. I just have to find a good moment," he said unsure if such a moment would ever come.

* * *

"This should be fun," Rose said later, handing Dimitri his medication for sleeping through the pain in his side. As far as she knew it was just for sleeping.

"Yeah," he said swallowing the pill. "I think we need this. It'll be good for us...distract us for a little while."

She nodded in agreement setting his water by his bedside.

It felt weird having someone, Rose especially, wait on him like a nurse. He told her she didn't really have to but she always said she needed something to keep her busy and her mind off things, especially since she wasn't working. It reminded Dimitri of how she had worked for him before when everything was still complicated but there were lighthearted times too.

Now, the only relief seemed to be that they were alive and together. Tasha was still on the loose and Dimitri needed major surgery but he didn't want to dwell on the downside of life anymore the way he use to.

Remembering his surgery and thinking of his conversation with Ivan he thought now might be anice time to tell Rose.

He opened his mouth to speak but stopped, getting a nice look at her as she adjusted the lamp beside his bed. She looked breathtaking, not single sign of her brief illness today and he wondered what that had been about. He figured she took the Niquil she said she'd bought hiding any sign she'd been sick before.

It was the first time he really looked at her since the night they'd spent at the clinic. He noticed how her hair naturally hung long, soft, and loose down her shoulders, the shape of her curvy body in the tank top and shorts she slept in, and the light brown shade her eyes had taken even though it seemed like she was often in a mood so dark.

He couldn't ruin this perfect moment.

He only wanted to make it better so it'd last longer, something to hold on to for when he did tell her about the surgery he needed, a nice memory.

And he had to act fast before the sleeping pill took affect.

He just wasn't sure how.

"Rose," he said simply.

She looked up at him, finishing organizing his westerns beside the lamp.

"Thank you...for everything you've done and been doing for me."

"Anytime," she smiled softly.

Those weren't the right words to make this moment better or for it to last but he was able to get a ginuine smile from her and that seemed and felt like enough. He wasn't going to push it.

Even if he'd decided to he would've been out of time.

Rose stood up, after looking at Dimitri as if she were going to kiss him but th emoment was fleeting, too short to catch and save.

"I guess I should let you get some sleep." She walked to the door, almost hesitantly. "Goodnight, Dimitri."

"Goodnight."

Dimitri slammed his head back against his pillow frustrated. He wished he'd been able to make her stay, just long enough to know he cared about her and that she knew it.

He drifted off replaying his words in his head and what he could've done differently. He feel asleep imagining Rose leaning in and kissing him the way she use to...or maybe he'd take charge as he so often did and just grab a hold of Rose and give her the best of amount of passion he could muster up...Dimitri laughed to himself. He was starating to sound like those corny romance novels Rose talked about.

He thought of her full, soft lips, the sweet taste of her mouth, the feel of her warm skin under his hands that seemed to grow hotter wherever he touched her, the sigh and moan that escaped her lips when she grew excited when they touched...the sound of her voice when they'd slept together... Rose had been quiet when they were together, each whispering the other's name, Rose only growing loud when the welcome excitement became too much for her to hold within herself.

Her sweet laugh of embarrassment mixed with fun when she'd realize she might have been too loud. Dimitri never cared. He could listen to her all day, he realised.

The best part about it all was the comforting feel of how her body shaped perfectly against his when held close.

Dimitri felt himself roll over in his sleep wishing Rose was there...that he had the real thing...

And as if his wish were granted, she was suddenly there.

His bedroom door opened and closed quickly as she tried to slip quietly inside. The covers on the bed were lifted on one side as she slid in, settling on the far edge of the bed.

"Is it okay if I sleep here tonight?" She whispered, knowing he was awake. His body became the most alert and attentive when she was around. "I was thinking about Ivan and Mia and Lissa and Christian and...even my parents and...Adrian and Tasha and I realized I don't want to be alone anymore. Not tonight anyway," she explained before he could respond.

"You're always welcome beside me. You're never alone, Rose." He touched her shoulder and then pulled it back, not wanting her to leave him again, filling the cold side of the bed beside him that had always been there even when he'd slept beside Tasha.

He saw the nod of her silouette to his words and wished her goodnight again.

"Dimitri," she said so low he thought he'd imagined it as he'd started drifting off, his mind calm and clear now that she was actually here.

"Hmm?"

"That first night, when you came home, here, with me and you were telling me you understood...you called me Roza."

There was a long silence while he waited for her to continue and when she didn't he said, "Yeah?"

She rolled over, scooting closer to him on the bed and in a sleepy voice said, "Don't ever stop calling me, Roza."

Dimitri smiled to hismelf in the dark. He'd finally found what she needed to feel truly better, for now anyway.

A small gesture, an endering gesture to remind her that she did have people who loved and cared about her.

"I won't ever stop calling you Roza, Roza," he promised.

There was a brief pause before she manuevered back, so that her back was against him and her bare legs were entagled with his and the sent of her hair and skin so close to him and overwhelming Dimitri couldn't help not touching her.

He stretched his arm easily around her waist, able to grab a hold of her hand against her stomach in the dark, and they drifted to a nice, quiet sleep, the first in a long time without any pain.


	46. Chapter 46: Rose

**_Rose_**

"Something's wrong."

Lissa moved about the house picking up trash as she went along. Rose hadn't been very good about keeping things tidy since she and Dimitri had been there. When she'd lived in the house with Lissa the house had always been clean. Now there were old medication boxes, bags, bottles, old take out containers, and all Rose's packed up belongings strewn about the house.

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked in a dry tone.

"I'm talking about the fact that all of you are driving me crazy. I mean, Dimitri was shot, Ivan and Mia eloped, I'm not completely in favor of this belated engagement party idea, and you-"

"What about me?"

She stopped circling the room with her trash bag long enough to stare Rose in the eyes.

"You're hiding something."

Rose wasn't surprised. Her cousin could always telling when there was something off about her. This time was different thought. She wasn't really putting in the effort to hide it because it hurt too much.

"I'm fine, Liss."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? Obviously none of us are fine. We've been through an ordeal...and the surprise of Mia and Ivan's elopement isn't helping things," she exclaimed.

Rose giggled. She knew her cousin well enough to know she was more upset that she wasn't invited and not there to scold them for acting to rashly and not them actually eloping.

Rose herself thought it was kind of sweet.

She couldn't blame them. Life suddenly seemed to short to think everything through.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Lissa asked flustered.

"Because you're funny," she smirked, feeling the pain of not having laughed in such a long time.

Lissa rolled her eyes and continued picking up trash. "You're changing the subject. What is going on with you? There's something wrong."

"You're quiet which means I'm right," Lissa said triumphantly tossing the trashbag aside. She sat in front of Rose on the coffee table. "Spill," she ordered.

Rose didn't say anything.

Her cousin seemed happy, holly jolly but Rose knew her well enough to know she was worn out from everything like the rest of them. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her with everything that was always in her head like images of Adrian, the most recent figure in all of her nightmares, Stan, the quiet but violent men who tried to help kill her, Tasha who is out in the world probably with a dark grudge against Rose, her father, the man who was held responsible for her mother's death but disappeared and hasn't been seen since then, and her mother, the image of her limp, hanging body swaying slightly in the darkness.

Rose couldn't...wouldn't worry her cousin with all of this so she kept quiet.

She didn't mention that it was all of this and all the guilt she felt for not only taking someone's life but for pushing Dimitri away that kept her awake at night. She laid with Dimitri every night since the first and she hadn't slept once. DUring the day she'd doze but quick flashed of her worst fears kept her from falling into a deep sleep.

She'd scream and then fall to the floor clutching at her falling tears until they stopped or until Dimitri would find her, hold her, and comfort her.

He never once promised that things would be okay because she knew it was a lie. Things wouldn't be okay for a while.

The worst of it all was the deep pain in her stomach that she tried so hard to ignore but only seemed to grow worse with each passing moment. It felt as if she was being stabbed repeatedly while free-falling on a roller coaster ride. It was unbearable but Rose kept it to herself.

Even when it was obvious Dimitri noticed something was off about her but Rose knew he was keeping a secret of his own, something he'd been trying to tell her for a few days now but couldn't seem to muster up the courage to.

She was too wrapped up in her own pain to push him on it. She decided to wait until he told her.

She'd been doing a good job at managing the pain and keeping quiet until now.

"Rose, we tell each other everything. Is it Dimitri related?" Lissa asked.

_Dimitri. _Even the thought of his named warmed and chilled her.

She sat remembering the nights they'd recently spent together.

_Dimitri slept so sound and soft because of the medication, Rose continuously checked his pulse to make sure he was still breathing._

_She'd been hesitant about touching him. She didn't want to give him the idea that she was ready for such an intense relationship because she wasn't. She was scared. She didn't want to somehow end up like her parents. She didn't want to end up hurt because Dimitri suddenly left her. She definitely didn't want to lose him but she just wasn't ready._

_She longed to lean into him and hold him the same way he did her but it felt to scary and intimidating when she did._

_She felt safe now, laying beside him as he slept sounding, his soft breathing filling the silent room. Most nights she'd spent with her back to him but tonight she was facing his sleeping form. She'd waited until he fell asleep to face him._

_She watched as his lips twitched to a slight smile while he slept, she appreciated that he'd been shirtless most of the time to make it easier for the wounds to heal, and the soft beat of his heart that she could swear she could hear even laying a couple of inches away from him._

_She envied his serene sleep but enjoyed the sight of him. It calmed her and took her mind off of everything, including the pain and the dizzy spells, remembering._

_She was enjoying herself so much she soon found her fingers reaching out gently to touch him. She told her self that she was just checking his breathing again but she knew she just wanted to feel his warmth beneath her fingers the way she had so many times before._

_She started tracing a light line from the temple of his forehead down to the curve of his mouth and jumped, startled, when he stirred._

_"You should be sleeping," he whispered in the quiet room._

_She paused still startle from having woken him. She wish she hadn't and felt guilty for doing so. "I can't," she murmured a moment later. "I'd love to sleep but my mind has other ideas."_

_Dimitri chuckled softly, raising his brow suggestively. "Really?" _

_Rose, hearing the implication in his tone and what her words implied, reddened. "N-no I didn't mean that. I just meant...I can't stop thinking," she stuttered._

_Dimitri started to laugh at her flustered state but winced at the pain in his side. _

_"Are you okay?" Rose asked worriedly._

_She started to move her hand away but stopped. "Don't," Dimitri said. He turned his face into the palm of her hand and she understood. He'd been so patient with her, dealing with her withdrawal. He just needed something, a sign that she still wanted him as much as he wanted her, she realized._

_She pressed her hand closer into his face. He grabbed a hold of her wrist gently and kissed her palm._

_She could feel a smile tugging at her lips. She'd nearly forgotten how soft his lips were. She inched a bit closer so that the tips of their noses were brushing and she nearly giggle at the tickling feel of their skin brushing against each other. It didn't take much effort for her to move a bit closer and find her lips pressed to his._

_The kiss was so feather soft she wasn't really sure she'd kissed him until she felt it, the electric feeling of heat running through her body and when they pulled only a bit away, both were panting, surprised by the shock of the kiss._

_Dimitri exhaled, closing his eyes. "I've missed that."_

_"Missed what?"_

_"The feeling...everything...you."_

_Rose thought a moment before saying, "Me too."_

_Rose could still feel the electric heat running through her body, mixing with the pain in her abdomen but for a moment she was able to ignore it. _

_Dimitri, taking advantage of the small sign Rose had given him, leaned into the inch that they'd separated and kissed her. It was soft and gentle but soon turned fierce, passionate. _

_He positioned himself on top of her and she welcomed it wrapping her arms tight around his neck. She wanted this, needed this, the feel of his reassuring weight on her and his warmth._

_She flinched a bit when his weight was directly on the pained spot in her stomach. Dimitri pulled away, alarmed. "Did I hurt"_

_"Don't stop," she interrupted grateful for the distraction from the memories and pain._

_Dimitri caressed the side of her face, his finger running along each intricate feature, pausing on her lips before continuing down to the end of her tank top. It all happened so slowly, each of their clothes coming off before they both laid bare beneath the covers with only each other for warmth. _

Rose smiled at the memory.

They'd spent many similar nights that same way with very few words but they didn't need to talk. Similar to their first meeting, they communicated physically, for now anyway.

"Where is Dimitri anyway?" Lissa asked breaking her train of thought.

"Ivan took him to his doctor's appointment."

"I'm surprised you didn't go. I'm even more surprised you even answered my phone call."

Rose rested her head against the couch looking up.

"I was going to but Ivan said something about 'guy time' and I figured you'd cuss me out if I didn't answer your calls soon so..." she trailed off.

_"I can take him," Rose said as Ivan waited for Dimitri by the door. "Save you from taking days off your new job."_

_"Should I feel betrayed that you're working at a clinic not owned by me?" Dimitri asked coming into the foyer in front of the door._

_Ivan tossed him his leather coat. "Nothing personal. I just need a little cash flow for the new place Mia and I plan to buy since she says my apartment and her apartment hold remnants of past affairs and this clinic is close to home meaning less of a commute from work meaning"_

_"More time for sex," Rose and Dimitri filled in. _

_"Of course!" He exclaimed. "And it's no trouble Rose. Dimitri and I need some bonding guy time anyway."_

_"You are taking him to his appointment, right, and not some strip club?" Rose asked for confirmation._

_Ivan winked. "Since you two get to be so secretive about our belated engagement party, I get to be secretive about our wild guy plans for today," he said. "Besides, h__e's been cooped up too long. I'm you two of the opposite sex have found nothing exciting to do alone here in this big house with only each other's clothes to tear off."_

_He leans down to peck Rose on the cheek before heading out to his car. _

_Dimitri shook his head exasperated before kissing Rose on his own, a promise kiss that he'd be back soon, and leaving._

"Maybe this party thing is a good idea," Lissa admitted.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it could be a good distraction from all of this," she sighed gesturing to Rose. "I just want everything back to normal, you and Christian especially."

"Me too, L. How is he?"

Lissa huffed running her hands through her platinum blonde hair. "As can be expected after finding out the person who practically raised you is a nutjob. He's talking to me more but I think he's talking to Jill more."

"What!" Rose exclaimed more than interested now.

"He says he needs to understand, closure, and since he figured Jill was in on whatever twisted plans Tasha and Adrian had he talks to her and she's more than willing to help, a little too willing."

Rose relaxed a bit. "I can understand that."

"What you want to talk to Jill too? You better not! It's hard enough watching him go off and talk to her instead of me but if I lose my cousin/best friend too I'm going to slap someone!"

"Lissa, threatening Bitch slaps?" Rose asked quirking a brow, amused.

"I'm pass my breaking point," she exhaled.

Rose smiled and leaned forward, surprising her cousin with a tight hug. "No I don't need to talk to Jill. I have you and I appreciate you." She pulled back looking into the worry that filled her cousin's eyes. "remember Christian loves you."

"Have you told Dimitri that?" Lissa asked.

"That Christian loves you?" Rose asked confused.

"No! That you appreciate having him."

Rose leaned back onto the couch. "Let's just say I've 'showed' him my appreciation and leave it at that."

Lissa giggled, blushing. "My cousin the lover! I'm glad you two are finally acting like the lovey dovey couple you should be. Things are falling into place again!" She exclaims throwing her arms up in the air.

"SPeaking of things falling back to normal, I was hoping you'd take over the belated engagement party plans. I'm in way over my head and I'm just not up for this." Rose hated asking. She felt like this was when they were teens, after Lissa's family died in a car accident, granted the right to live alone since they were close to the age of eighteen and Lissa cleaned up most of Rose's messes, finishing what she couldn't.

"I'd love to," Lissa grinned. "This gives me an opportunity to punish them."

"Try not having strippers. They seem pretty disappointed by that idea."

They both laughed, filling the empty house.

Lissa moved to sit beside Rose on the couch and they say listening to the quiet. "It's too quiet in here. Remember when it was loud with all the kids voices, our distant cousins, mom, dad, André, Aunt Janine...We need more noise in our lives...good noise," Lissa rambled.

Rose understood though. She just wanted a family back together, a big family for the house they grew up in mostly happy.

"Yeah we do." Rose remember most of the happy memories of playing with Lissa through the house, André chasing them, her mom and Aunt Rhea laughing and talking until the late hours of the night. She couldn't hold onto the good memories long enough and they were soon replaced by the bad ones, dark, images of her mother hanging, the police officer's face as he told the two girls of the fatal car accident...Adrian...

Rose flinch involuntarily and doubled over the pain in her head and abdomen becoming too intense.

"Rose!" She heard her cousin scream and could feel her reach out to comfort her and asking what was wrong but it was too much, the memories. The dark images dance behind her eyes until there was nothing but darkness.

When Rose opened her eyes later she was in the familiar sterile white room of a hospital.

"Why-wh-" she tried to speak but her throat was dry.

She could hear voices speaking around her that stopped once they realized she was awake. A doctor peered over at her while Lissa stood on the other side.

"Rose, can you hear me?" the doctor asked peering at her.

"Yes..."

"That's good," she noted flashing a light in either of her eyes before writing something down.

"You passed out. I had to bring you here to the hospital," Lissa explained. "Are you alright? What happened and don't say nothing and that you're fine," she ordered squeezing her hand.

She sat propped up in the hospital bed attached to machines and feeling drained. Rose figured she couldn't lie anymore and she didn't have the strength to so she explained about the pain and everything else she'd been feeling. She'd been talking to Lissa but the doctor took notes every so often listening intently.

"Why didn't you tell me...or anyone for that matter?" Lissa asked her voice breaking.

"Lissa, I couldn't. I thought it'd go away or that I could deal with it," she whispered ashamed. She obviously wasn't dealing with it very well.

"I believe you had a stress related breakdown that took on physical signs and symptoms," the doctor explained preventing Lissa from saying anything in response. She stood beside Rose's bed squeezing her hand tightly.

"From what you've just told me and what your cousin ahs told me of your recent traumatic experiences this is just a physical form of PTSD and, mixed with the stress, inability to cope, it resulted in the vivid memories and nightmares, lack of sleep," the doctor listed continuing oblivious to the emotional moment between the two cousins.

"I told you before, it's me and you...and Dimitri now too I guess," Lissa said trying to smile past tears forming in her eyes, sympathy tears. "I don't like seeing you like this, Roses. I wish you would've told one of us. We do care and love you, you know?"

Rose nodded slighty. She knew it but it was easier knowing something than acknowledging it aloud.

"I called Ivan by the way. They're here in the hospital. Dimitri's still in the examination room and can't receive message until it's over but Ivan said he'd bring him down as soon as he was out," Lissa explained.

Rose nodded dreading the inevitable conversation with Dimitri.

She rested back on the pillow trying to calm her mind. She wondered hwy the hospital wasn't pumping welcome drugs into her system to calm her down and relax her.

The doctor took a few more notes before checking Rose's pulsed and blood pressure, oblivious, still, to the unfolding events.

"You should be fine afer suggested therapy-"

"I'm crazy now?" Rose interrupted.

"Or simply opening up to close friends could help," the doctor went on ignoring Rose's words.

Lissa snorted. "You obviously don't know Rose. The day she opens up is the day hell freezes over." The doctor tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

"Ah, one of the difficult one, huh? Well, I'm sure with a cousin like this you'll be fine, Rose."

"Could you give her something for sleeping and the headaches?" Lissa asked as Rose rubbed at her temples.

"I would but I'm more of an advocate for emotional healing. That's what you really need," she said writing on her notepad. "The medication wouldn't be good for you in this condition and you my become reliant on it, further deteriorating your health. you just need more relaxation and to deal with whatever issues at hand. Your body is shutting down asking you to take a breather. The added stress of having to care for someone who is probably doesn't help matters."

Rose listened in and out as the doctor went on. She just wanted sleep.

"It also hasn't mixed very well with the stress of your pregnancy."

* * *

**_A/N: My computer has a virus and has deleted the chapters I had written (and they were reeeeeeeeally good if I do say so myself). So Sorry! Trying desperately to update sooner_**


	47. Chapter 47: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"You are going to need surgery soon. You're a doctor, you know the risks."

Dimitri exhaled through his nose letting his shoulders fall. The last thing he wanted to do was think about the surgery he needed to remove the bullet so close to his spine.

He also didn't want to think about how he was going to tell Rose...or if he was going to tell her.

"Your records show that you have family..." the doctor said paging through Dimitri's files.

"Out of the country," Dimitri said without an ounce of emotion in his voice. He hadn't spoken to his family in years and he wasn't about to start by telling them he had been shot recently and needed surgery to prevent paralysis.

"I see. Well, the last few times you visited you had your girlfriend with you, is that correct? Maybe you might want to consult with her before making any decisions," the doctor advised.

The surgery would only be a few hours and he'd have to stay overnight for observation but he could spare Rose the worry by lying and saying he was taking Ivan out for one last bachelor party. He figured it all out, glancing out the examination room window seeing Ivan on the phone.

The plan was perfect.

He worked it all out in his head while his doctor worked out the last of the details of the surgery.

It would be simple...or so he thought.

Dimitri immediately saw the anxious expression in his friend's eyes as he paced in front of the examination room. Ivan walked back and forth rubbing his hands across his forehead.

"I think you're making a track in the floor. What's wrong?" Dimitri asked trying to lighten his own mood and discern what was bothering Ivan.

_Had the nurses told him of the severity of the surgery?_

Ivan was surprised by Dimitri's reappearance.

"Lissa just called me," he said getting straight to the point, none of his natural humor on his face. "Rose is here in the hospital."

"What-" Dimitri started but before he could finish Ivan was pulling him toward the elevator. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me much. She just said she had to bring Rose here to the hospital."

Dimitri thoughts turned to all kinds of worry, that heavy sinking feeling building in his stomach.

It seemed like forever before the elevator stopped on the floor Rose was supposedly on. Ivan and Dimitri quickly found a nurse who led them to the room Rose was in.

Dimitri was surprised that the nurses hadn't asked if they were family or not but he realized that she was in a hurry along with two other nurses running into the room.

"...passed out again. This is the second time and I need..." the attending doctor, an older woman, was saying as she leaned over Rose examining her eyes.

Dimitri found himself standing beside her reaching for her hand. He turned to Lissa who stood off to the side running her hands through her hair.

"What happened?"

"I-I don't know. She passed out at the house saying she was in pain and then I brought her here. The doctor said she was suffering from physical signs of stress and then she said..." her words trailed off as a smile grew on her face, her green eyes surprised, animated as Dimitri had never seen them before.

"She said what?" Ivan asked anxious.

Dimitri couldn't stand waiting for Lissa to finished her sentence, staring down at a limp Rose who was beginning to stir awake a bit.

"All I told her was that she was pregnant...and by her reaction I'm guessing she didn't know," the doctor told them adjusting Rose's pillows while the nurses injected her IV with a calming sedative.

Dimitri froze.

Ivan froze and laughed.

Lissa giggled, clutching the side of Rose's hospital bed. "Isn't this exciting!"

"I knew it!" Ivan shrieked. "I have a sixth sense about these things...Dimitri?" Ivan prodded noticing Dimitri's stiff state. "Do you guys have one of those adrenaline shots, I think he's frozen stiff?" Ivan asked the doctor.

"Did you say pregnant?" Dimitri managed to ask.

The doctor nodded sheepishly."I'm sorry to ruin the surprise."

"Pregnant?" Dimitri repeated for confirmation.

"Yes, man, pregnant. The result of doing the dirty deed-"

"I know how it happened! I just..."

"Can't believe it," Lissa finished for him. "I'm going to be an aunt! Oh this so exciting"

"I wouldn't start cheering right away," the doctor said cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked all business serious now. He couldn't believe it. In all honesty he'd never wanted kids. It wasn't like he had anything against them it was just he never saw himself with the traditional family dynamic. Both of his sisters had kids and they seemed happy enough but Dimitri had thought himself as a bachelor with nothing holding him down...including children.

The doctor grabbed a hold of Rose's chart and scanned over it before handing it to Dimitri. "Lissa told me you two were doctors so I won't sugar coat anything for you. Rose's stress is having a negative affect on her body, interfering with the health of herself and that of her baby. She's only about a month along so earliness of the pregnancy is what concerns me. The baby healths is at a more serious risk of-"

"Miscarriage?" Ivan asked glancing at his friend who stood running his eyes over Rose's chart but the words didn't seem to be sinking in.

"It's a possibility," the doctor nodded. "If she is to carry the baby to term, there is also high risk of SIDS, still birth, or other defects."

Dimitri could hear Lissa gasp and glanced at her to see tears in her eyes leaning into Rose. "What about Rose? What does that mean? Can she...die too if she carries the baby all of the way?"

"This is a high risk pregnancy so I can't tell you that it isn't likely."

The mood in the room shifted so quickly from initial excitement and shock to blatant fear from everyone including the caring doctor.

Dimitri felt like breaking something.

It seemed like he and Rose just couldn't get a break. For a moment, during all of those nights he'd laid with Rose and held her in his arms, he thought that life was finally falling back into a normal pattern, that they may just get past all the recent drama in their lives.

_I couldn't have been more wrong._

* * *

Rose cried in her sleep.

She didn't say much of anything when she came to in the hospital. She nodded silently when the doctor advised her to stay in bed until her next checkup or when they arrived home. On the ride home from the hospital, Dimitri and Lissa shared the same worried expression that this meant Rose was falling further into her dark depression but said nothing.

They had to wait a few days for test results to come back letting them know how serious this pregnancy was.

He could hear her weeping at night but did nothing to reassure her. He wasn't sure how. Every moment of his life after he left home, Dimitri had been able to control. This was way beyond his control.

He couldn't stop blaming himself for all of this being his fault but at the same time unable to forget the inevitable surgery he was supposed to have. He definately knew he couldn't tell her about it now.

Dimitri still wasn't sure how he felt. He couldn't stop worrying about what this was doing to Rose. He realized he never asked her how she felt about kids or if she even wanted any. He realized he didn't really know much about her at all.

With this thought in mind he stood up from the table he'd been sitting at for two days now ignoring phone calls form Lissa and Ivan. He was surprised they just didn't drop by.

He had to see her and know how she was doing. he couldn't put this off forever.

She laid in her bedroom wide awake and he sat beside unsure of what to say.

"This happened the night at the clinic...didn't it?" she whispered, her voice breaking the tense silence.

"I think so. I did the math," he sighed laying back against the headboard.

He wanted to reach out and hold her but he was sure she'd pull away. He would've done the same thing if he was the one carrying the baby. He tried figuring out how he could've been so stupid and careless. He was a clinic doctor and this happened in a clinic with tons of contraceptives.

He remembered the night, the passion, and realized all he had thought about was having Rose all to himself and nothing else. Remembering this a new thought came to mind but he wasn't sure he should say it out loud at the time.

"We do have options rose," he started. It seemed like too serious a conversation to have but he wanted to help. he didn't like seeing her like this, sad and darkened instead of happy and smiling the way she use to be before they were together. "The doctor said it might even be better if you...if the pregnancy is terminated early on while we're still able to."

He heard Rose's intake of break and fought the urge to flinch as her eyes quickly turned to glare at him, watery.

"I c-couldn't...no," she shook her head closing her eyes. "I can't do that. I won't. I wouldn't leave a...my chicld the way my mother and father left me."

The words _my child _seemed to hang in the air.

_So Rose has already claimed the baby as her own, deciding to keep it._

Dimitri felt scared.

He didn't know it but he'd expected Rose to be ready and willing to end the dangerous and risky pregnancy.

It all sounded more permanent forming an intimidating and unclear image in his mind.

_My child._

He felt his heart clench at the mention of Rose's parents out of sympathy. He couldn't place himself in her shoes but he understood. She'd been through a lot lately and those would be the obvious thoughts in her mind.

_Immediate attachment_, he reasoned.

"Rose, I just..." he wasn't even sure what he was going to say the words falling from his lips as she looked up at him with her wide sad eyes.

"Don't. Not now, Dimitri." She sunk deeper into the bed pulling the covers around her. "I just want to sleep right now. I don't want to talk anymore...jsut sleep," she sighed.

He figure they weren't going to get anywhere with the news, the shock, and their reactions still fresh in their minds.

"Alright."

He stood to leave, bending to tuck the blankets tighter around her.

He wanted to kiss her, one last time before she fell into the sad state she'd been in before but she winced as he started to lean down and thought better of it.

She turned away from the side of the bed he stood on.

Dimitri knew he'd be sleeping alone tonight and many nights after.


	48. Chapter 48: Lissa and Rose

_**Lissa**_

Lissa couldn't imagine life without her only cousin.

Some of her first memories included the always smiling and laughing Rose; the girl who could make a joke out of anything, beat anyone, especially boys, at any sport, and was the strongest, bravest person that Lissa had ever known along with her mother.

Often, Lissa found herself thinking that she had more memories of Rose than she did of her own loving family.

Seeing her cousin like this, depressed, quiet, unsmiling, not willing to face the reality that life was always going to be this hard and disappointing, made Lissa question how she herself had remained sane enough to function.

She herself hadn't had it so easy and she'd assumed that because her and Rose had everything taken from them except for each other that life would turn out alright. She felt it was owed to them, the very least that they'd make it without anymore heartaches or breaks.

Life was proving her wrong.

She sat at the kitchen table of the apartment she now shared with Christian, listing all of the terrible things that have ruined what was supposed to be a fresh start and a new year.

_Where to begin,_ she asked herself. _Where did it all begin?_

_Rose's ill-fated affair with Dimitri?_

She immediately regretted the thought remembering how happy Rose was that unusually sunny winter day, gushing of how she met _"a guy to too hot to be human"._ Lissa thought of her cousin's beaming happiness then and how she should be practically glowing now if she were in a normal relationship with an unexpected, healthy baby on the way surrounded by people who cared.

_Maybe all of this bad luck didn't begin with Rose and Dimitri's unorthodox relationship._

Lissa couldn't hold onto the idea of blaming Dimitri because despite her initial misgivings about him, she could see he genuinely cared about Rose.

_Not to mention Dimitri couldn't have predicted or known any of this was going to happen...could he?_

She immediately waved the thought away, reasoning that if she was going to use that logic then Christian would be at fault too. She just couldn't think that way of the love of her life.

_Maybe this was just all fate and bad luck,_ she concluded, unable to think of anyone to blame.

She tried blaming, hating Adrian for turning Rose into the quiet, empty being she was now but then her mind would tell her that maybe someone in _his_ life or Stan's like made them the way they were.

_Maybe Rose would've cracked under all of life's disappointments anyway._

The long chain of potential reasons and questions behind why they were so evil gave Lissa an unwelcome headache so she didn't dwell on the thoughts for too long.

Tasha's reasons were jealousy, according to the police. Lissa had scoffed when they'd told her that but thinking of Christian out with Jill, trying to make sense of all this, Lissa found herself wondering if she'd do something similar if she thought she was going to lose him.

With his usual perfect timing, Lissa heard the front door of the apartment open, announcing Christian's arrival.

"Chris?" she called unnecessarily, letting all of her previous complicated thoughts drift away.

He appeared a moment later dressed in his usual all black. His eyes were as tired and bright blue as when he'd left this morning.

"Hey," he greeted, setting a few bags down on the kitchen table. "I went out and grabbed a few things from the store for the party."

"I was gonna do that, you didn't have to," Lissa said surprised, standing to help him start putting the food away.

"I know, I just wanted to help you a little. I haven't really been a very good boyfriend these last few weeks and I know you're not comfortable with the Jill thing so I'm starting to make it up to you," he explained.

Lissa smiled, noticing the lack of sadness that had been in his voice for a while now. "I understand you just needed some space and an explanation and Jill was the only person who could really give it to you," she acknowledged through gritted teeth, imagining herself girl-slapping Jill repeatedly.

"Still, I know how much you're uncomfortable around her and you've been pretty amazing this week especially with everything going on with Rose too." He stopped stacking the groceries away long enough to kiss Lissa on the cheek the way he'd always done since they first started dating.

She felt a certain warmth that wasn't there before and saw his usual sparkle to his blue eyes. She started to smile at first but then worry crept into her mind and she could feel her face forming into a solemn expression.

_What was it that made Christian seem so much better than he was when she saw him leaving this morning?_

"What's wrong?" Christian asked noticing the change in mood.

"Was it Jill who made you...like this?" she asked almost sheepishly,embarrassed by her jealousy of the other woman she looked down not want anything to meet his direct stare.

"Like what?"

"So happy all of a sudden?"

"Honestly, yes... but not for the reason you think!" he added quickly as her heart started to sink.

"I'm happy that I finally kind of have an understanding about Tasha but I'm mostly happy because you stuck with me through this whole thing and it reminded me of one of the many reasons I love you."

Lissa grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. It felt good to have her Christian back but she wondered what it was Jill told him to make everything seem so okay. For now, though, she'd let it be.

She was just happy she had her Christian back.

Looking for a change of topic she asked, "I thought you didn't like this idea of a belated engagement party thing and that it was stupid?"

"Change of heart with my new outlook on life. You wanna know why?"

"Why?"

He pulled her close to him by the waist so that her chest rose and fell against his in synchronized pattern.

"Because one day, I won't be able to stand the fact that we're not promised to each other for eternity and I'm going to sweep you off your feet, maybe unexpectedly, and this'll be us that they're planning a party for," he whispered bringing his lips down on hers.

She relished in the kiss but then pulled away still in his embrace. "I hope our engagement and wedding will be a little bit more different from Mia's."

"Like what? You'll allow strippers at our engagement parties?" he asked joking.

She swatted his chest.

"No, not just that but it's weird, me following in the steps of Mia. I've always been the one to do everything first even thought Mia is the oldest of the three of us."

"You've done _everything _first?" Christian asked his mouth quipping into that of a smile.

She nodded. "Well I did everything first that wasn't sex related," she amended. "I just thought I'd be the first to get married and have a baby and I feel guilty for being so..."

"Jealous? You've been feeling that way a lot lately," he noted.

"And it sucks."

"Our time will come."

She relaxed in his arms. "I know. I get the feeling we're just meant to help everyone else along before we get our turn and with the dose of bad luck we've been having lately who know's how long it'll be. I don't see it happening anytime soon, " she said dryly.

Christian laughed. "It will. You know for a moment there you sounded like Rose. How's she doing?"

Lissa was surprised by his inquiry. He had always shied away from conversations involving Rose because they hadn't exactly gotten along and lately he practically sneered at the name because it acted as a reminder of everything that happened.

"Dimitri says she sleeps most of the time. He doesn't really see her."

"You should go see her."

"I want to but I don't know what to say to her or Dimitri. He told me he's supposed to have some serious surgery to remove one of the bullets and Rose doesn't know about it. Right now just seem like the right to do anything."

Christian put the last of the groceries away and turned to Lissa. "I'd love to tell you that I knew what you're going through and I know what to say but my family hasn't exactly been the best barometer by which all families should be measured. I think you should just go see her, let her know you're there for her. That's all she needs. That's all I neeeded...and tell her that I'm there for her too."

"Or you could just come with me..." she said hopefully, knowing it'd make her feel better if he was there with her.

"Rose and I have a relationship where it's always been better when we're not together...but I am here for them. I have some stuff to take care of and catch up on but tell her I don't blame her for any of this."

Lissa nodded, hugging him once more and kissing him on the cheek. She found it odd that he was okay all of a sudden but she rejoiced in it.

She hoped Rose would recover just as quickly. Maybe Christian would be right in saying that Rose just needed Lissa to be there for her.

She grabbed her coat and keys and headed for the front door with an idea on how to get through to her cousin. Christian had said Jill had gotten through to him in someway.

Maybe Lissa just needed a gesture, something simple, to remind her cousin that she was never alone and that they'd always be there for one another as a family.

* * *

_**Rose**_

"Where are we going?" Rose asked as Lissa turned again onto another vaguely familiar street.

"Someplace we haven't been in a long time that I think we ought to visit," she answered without giving anything away.

Rose leaned against the window of the car and closed her eyes. "You forced me out of bed in my pajamas out in the cold and you won't tell me where we're going."

"I'm surprised I was able to even get you out of bed at all. Dimitri said-"

"That traitor," Rose muttered, thinking of Dimitri had been more than willing to let Lissa take her out of the house.

Rose thought that, as the father of her child, he'd at least put up the slightest resistance to Lissa making Rose leave the house. She thought she could rely on that to not get out of bed but he'd handed her a sweater, after Lissa spoke to him in hushed whispers, her Converse and a scarf and nearly pushed her out of the door.

_"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me," Rose said, her voice dry from disuse. _

_"You need some sunlight. You've been hibernating in your room for days now," Dimitri said tucking her coat around her shoulders. "Don't forget we have a doctor's appointment in a few hours."_

_Sounding eager to know the status of Rose's pregnancy herself, "I'll have her back by then," Lissa promised._

Lissa went on ignoring Rose's interruption. "-you sleep a lot during the day. And I didn't force you."

"You didn't have to. It was a slight relief getting away from his overbearing hovering," she complained.

He hadn't actually hovered over her so much as she could hear his pacing in the hallway and through the house at weird hours of the night.

"He cares Rose. I know it's been a while since you've really felt what that's like but it's there. He cares, we all do."

Unsure of what to say she kept quiet. She hadn't really spoken since the day they came home from the hospital and she felt at a loss for words for then first time in her life.

They were quiet the rest of the drive, Rose wondering what it was that prompted Lissa to come over so suddenly. Lissa finally pulled the car onto a smooth paved road that led between two metal gates and into a...

"The cemetary? You brought me...why would you..."

"This is where you first started running away after the funeral and you haven't stopped since,"

"What are you, some kind of zen master? Lissa take me home, I don't want to deal with this right now!"

"That's kind of the problem," Lissa muttered pulling her car over.

They sat in the car for what felt like hours before Lissa spoken again while Rose stared out her window in the direction of the grave she'd been to twice and never set eyes on again.

"I can't make you get out of the car but if you really want to start feeling better, you should." She climbed out of the car herself, slamming the door.

She didn't wait for Rose. She just started walking toward the graves.

It took Rose less than a heartbeat to follow behind her.

They'd all been laid to rest beside each other.

_"Eric, Rhea, Andre, and Janine," _Lissa read off each of the for graves.

It had been sheer luck that they'd been buried beside one another with Eric and Andre on one side of Rhea and Janine on her other side, each of their marble tombstones shining in the day's sunlight, the tall angel in kneeling in prayer behind them, between Rhea and Eric's stone, also glistening in the daylight.

Rose could hear her cousin exhale a shaky breath before greeting, "Hi daddy, Andy, Mommy."

Their eyes immediately teared but Rose kept quiet letting Liss have her moment to herself. She knelt in the middle talking to each of the graves comfortably as if she'd thought about doing this a lot.

Rose swayed on her feet uncomfortably. She forced her eyes to rest on her mother's grave before her.

It looked exactly the same as it had all these years ago at her aunt, uncle, and cousin's funeral.

"Mom," she whispered to herself.

Lissa had finished speaking by now and stood behind Rose without her realizing it until the silence became too much for her. She stepped back. "Lissa, I don't know what I'm doing here-"

"Just...talk to her Rose. Or don't say anything but you have to stop fighting and running and just deal with everything you're going through."

Rose released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I...I can't! Lissa, what do you want me to say? You want me to talk to her like she can hear me, tell her everything isn't alright but it will be and that I miss her?! No! I...I'm not like you. My parents aren't gone because of some freak accident. My parents are gone because they decided they didn't love me anymore and they left!'

"You know that's not true! Your mom-"

"Killed herself and left me here alone!'

"But you're not alone! I'm here, Dimitri's here, even Christian said to tell you that he was here if you really needed him! But we can't help you if you don't want to help yourself!"

"Yeah, thanks for the afterschool special lecture,"Rose shouted sarcastically. "If all of you were really there for me I wouldn't be in this mess! If you hadn't of pushed me away because of the Christian thing, I might not have flown into Adrian's abusive but open arms like an idiot...I feel so stupid!"

Rose turned on her heel, facing the gravestone. "This is all your fault! You left me here to suffer! You were a coward and I-I'm just like you! I found someone to creep me like crap the same way you did! Why didn't you protect me?! I thought you loved me!"

Rose was crying now. She fell to her knees in front of the stone crying.

Lissa worried what this might do to the baby briefly but she let her cry it out.

The day grew a bit darker as time passed. Lissa kneeled beside her cousin wrapping a tight arm around her.

"It's okay to hate her-"

"I just want her back!" Rose huffed. "Why did she leave me?! What did I do to make her leave me?!" She buried her face into Lissa's shoulder. "She probably saw I was going to be a disappointment, a failure in life and took the smart way out. I wouldn't want to deal with me either."

Lissa rocked her back and forth comfortingly similar to how Rose held on to her when her parents and brother died.

"Shh...don't say that about yourself. She loved you. She just wasn't strong enough to deal with the tragedies in her life but you are."

Lissa's word really hit home. Rose sobbed a few more times for a while longer before speaking again, wiping her eyes.

"Remember after high school how we'd promised to never have the dull, boring lives our parents had after they'd graduated?" she asked.

"Yeah. We said we'd take the world by storm," Lissa answered "This just...hasn't been our year," she laughed dryly. "You were in some sick love triangle, my boyfriend's aunt tried to ruin your life because of the sick love triangle, Christian's ex-girlfriend suddenly reappears, Mia and Ivan elope, Dimitri was shot...you're pregnant. Have I mentioned we're only in April?"  
Rose laughed just as dryly, leaning back on the grass.

"I don't even feel pregnant," she said serious, staring at her mother's grave wondering if this was how all pregnancies felt. "I feel...empty."

"It's probably because of your emotions draining you," Lissa suggested hopefully, patting her on the back but Rose could hear that she didn't sound so sure.

Rose didn't feel sure herself.

"Maybe...we should go. My appointment is in an hour."

Lissa nodded helping her stand. "I'm glad you got some of your emotions out."

"I've wanted to say that for a while now," Rose admitted. She stared a moment longer, imprinting the last image of her mother's grave in her mind before turning away. "I wanna go. Let's go."

* * *

"How'd it go?" Rose could hear Dimitri ask Lissa.

She rolled her eyes at the fact that they thought she couldn't hear them talking about her a few feet away at the foot of the examination bed.

"Better than I expected. She still has some stuff to deal with but I think this helped."

Rose could see them glancing at her in her peripheral but she ignored them, resting her head back against the pillow of her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She didn't want to admit it but it did help.

She felt...lighter...a bit of weight had been lifted off her shoulders and away from her heart.

She just wished it'd help the knots building in her stomach. She tried saying the words a multitude of ways in her head but any way she said it she couldn't believe it and it didn't sound right that she was pregnant.

She wasn't even sure if she wanted kids and this happens.

She been in shock when she first found out but she felt hollow now...empty as she had said at the cemetary. It was the only word that could accurately describe her feelings...and confused when it came to Dimitri but she didn't focus too much on that for now.

For now she was just happy for once in a long time that she wasn't alone.

"How are you feeling today?" the doctor asked walking into the examination room.

Rose exhaled, unsure of how to describe her empty feeling. The doctor didn't seem to mind her lack of words. She placed herself beside Rose's bad holding her file in her hands and staring down.

"Miss Hathaway, I have your test results back and I have some news," she said solemnly.

"Bad news?" Lissa asked coming to the other side of Rose's bed.

It was clear from the doctor's tone that it wasn't anything good. Rose could see Dimitri's expressionless face. He must've had an inkling that the doctor's news wasn't good. He'd probably taken a similar stance anytime he'd had to deliver bad news at the clinic.

"I'm afraid so. I'm afraid that there was a slight error in your initial test and it appears-"

"I'm not pregnant, am I." It came out as a statement because Rose was more than certain that was the news. She could feel it.

"I'm sorry," the doctor apologized looking at Lissa who gasped holding her hand to her lips, her eyes glistening. "The pains in your stomach were do to excess stress. An ulcer was building in your stomach causing any nausea or morning sickness you were experiencing. I also have your other test results and after your examination you seem to be healing fine. No headaches or anything?"

Rose shook her head.

"That's good. You're heathy but your blood pressure and stress levels concern me so I suggest, as before, to take it easy and try to relax. I have some pamphlets here on dealing with grief and stress, a few widely recommended therapists-"

"I'm fine," Rose said and it was true.

A part of her was fine. She felt the slightest relief at not being pregnant. She wanted to just exhaled and breath but with three sets of eyes staring at her expectantly waiting for her to explode she held it together.

_I bet Dimitri's pretty relieved too, _she thought glancing at his still expressionless face.

The truly heart-broken one seemed to be Lissa. "Unless you want the therapists' numbers?" Rose asked dryly, jokingly.

Lissa shook her head. "No I'm alright. I'm so sorry, Rosie."

Rose lifted a shoulder to shrug. "So am I. I'm kind of sick of hospitals, though, and I'd really like to go home now."

* * *

Rose leaned against the kitchen counter.

She stared around the room she'd stood in so many times before laughing, carefree.

Right now she stood quiet, silent, worried.

_If this is how my life has started, how is the rest of it going to end? _

The sound of the microwave going off jarred her from her thoughts.

She pulled the cup of heated water out of the microwave as Dimitri came into the room silently but Rose could always sense when he was close or around.

Her body still reacted the same way it did the first time they'd met all those years ago.

"You're doing it again," Rose said without turning around.

"Doing what?"

"The creepy, silent, brooding from afar thing I'm sure you've perfected over the years."

Dimitri's lips lifted into the faintest of smiles when Rose turned around but it faded just as quickly replaced but his serious expression. She had the feeling he'd been trying to tell her something for a while now but it never came to light and she'd been too distracted with her own messy life to ask.

"Are you alright?"

He paused, thinking for a moment before nodding. "I'm fine."

"We're never going to be normal when it comes to one another and us being together, are we?"

Dimitri shook his head leaning against the door frame. "No, probably not. It's not like we had an ideal start to our..."

"Relationship if that's what you want to call it," she muttered staring down into her mug before glancing up again.

She'd nearly forgotten how good-looking Dimitri was with his light brown hair tucked behind his ears, his faint scruff shadowing his lower face, the tan to his skin, the slight revelation of his muscle hidden beneath his button down shirt.

He was gorgeous and she'd forgotten in all of her self wallowing. Not to mention she was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was still in her gray sweats, sweater, and Converse with her unbrushed hair and tired eyes.

He looked as if he'd aged in his own eyes in the days that had passed.

"I'm sorry, Rose."

She just nodded knowing he was apologizing not just for the loss of a baby that wasn't there but for everything.

"Me too."

He exhaled the way she'd wanted to in the hospital.

"You were hurting and sick and I was trying to push you to have an abortion and I'm sorry for that."

"You thought it was the best thing for me."

He pursed his lips coming to stand a bit closer to her before continuing. "It wasn't just that I wanted for you to get better," he admitted. She could see him swallow, his throat probably dry. This was the talk they'd avoided but needed to have. Her own throat felt a little dry. "We aren't exactly in the right place to be parents...I'm not even sure-"

"Me either," she interrupted trying to ignore the tug in her heart at the thought that Dimitri would've never adjusted to the unplanned baby.

He guided her to the table where they say across from each other.

"Look, I have planned every moment of my life since I've left home. I made plans to become a doctor, successful, getaway from my home in Russia, and live my life without any chaos or drama although it seems that's become harder to avoid," he added.

"Everything was working out fine...and then I went to a coffee shop one day and bumped into you and everything changed for me."

"For me too," she agreed, smiling at the memory, frowning at the recent memories of the result of that day.

"You were unexpected but I don't regret ever meeting you, you know that, right?"

She nodded.

"But with the unexpected comes chaos and drama and...I feel like the order in which I lived my life is gone and I need to find it again and the best way to do that is-"

"You're breaking up with me?"

Rose could hear her voice break and feel her eyes water, her stomach tightening with the fear rising in her throat.

"No! Of course not! After everything we've been through, I wouldn't throw it away." Dimitri seemed as surprised and fearful as Rose did. He gripped either of her arms pulling her closer to him. "I'm saying that you were right before. We have to take it slow and I think the best way to do that is for me to move out into my own apartment."

Rose relaxed in his grip.

"I think that's a good idea. I didn't know how to tell you I felt like you were smothering me," she smiled.

"I've missed that."

She smiled at the familiarity of the words. "What?"

"Your smile."

"And I miss smiling and just having fun.I think it's a good idea for you to move out. I need to live by myself for a while, get use to be independent," she agreed.

They talked a while longer about how the relationship wasn't going to change just because they were further apart. If anything it'd bring them closer together.

"We can't all be Ivan and Mia," Rose joked as they both laughed.

Dimitri stood. "Well I think I should start looking for a place."

Rose stood with him holding both of his warm hands in hers. "You don't have to hurry though. We could play house for a little while longer," she suggested leaning up on her toes to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

He smiled down at her, wrapping his arms in their familiar place at her waist.

"Are you really okay? I mean...it's been a lot of heavy crap lately. I probably be in an insane asylum by now if I were you," Dimitri said, his expression solemn again.

There was a shadow of his humor behind his eyes and Rose realised something.

She really did feel good, better.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I don't think it would've been good for anyone if I was pregnant right now. I'm just happy that I feel like I'm getting a bit of my old life back. I mean yeah, I was disappointed for a moment about the idea of a baby but...it's better this way," she concluded and she truly meant it. "I'm just surprised I didn't really get pregnant with unprotected tryst we were having lately. It just wasn't meant to be...for now anyway," she shrugged. "I mean I don't even know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life especially since I'm out of a job," she joked.

"Not for long. We'll work on that together but for now," he hinted, satisfied by her honest answer. He lowered his head so that his lips brushed against the warmth of her neck.

"We can enjoy unemployment."

* * *

**_A/N: I felt like it was too soon adding a baby into the mix (and so did many of my fans based on the reviews) so I thought for a while we'd stick to the light heartedness of the story with bits of the serious underlying story beneath. Thanks for the reviews and sorry if the chapter was somewhat boring and slow._**


	49. Chapter 49: Dimitri

**_Dimitri: May_**

"I can't believe you're wearing that."

Dimitri shook his head unbelievingly at Ivan's toga, cupid like outfit.

"It's your fault I'm wearing this. Beside, I think I look great!" Ivan exclaimed.

He turned himself around trying to catch a full view of himself in the reflection of the hotel elevator they were riding in.

"What do you mean?"

Ivan extended his legs out gazing down at them. "I mean, I have the legs to pull off this Cupid outfit-"

"No, I mean what do you mean it's my fault you're wearing that?"

Ivan tore his eyes away from his legs. He adjusted the wrap around he was wearing covering one side of his chest. "I mean that I feel obligated to wear this outfit because of and your significant other's decision to punish Mia and I by not gracing us with the presences of a stripper."

"Oh my God," Dimitri chuckled to himself running his hand down his face. "I can't believe you're still upset about that."

"Well we are so I have given myself the role of not only one of the party's honorees but as entertainer so here I stand."

"First of all, you know Lissa did most of the party planning-"

"Meaning it's a guarantee that we won't have the entertainment my wife and I requested...or so Mia says."

"You're parents are here!" Dimitri exclaimed amused.

"It's a risk I'm going to have to take," Ivan grinned as they exited the elevator.

Ivan seemed completely at ease strolling around the hotel lobby completely oblivious to the stares of the other hotel guests.

"So you're going to go out there and perform regardless of your parents and Mia's?"

"Yup."

"Strip tease, G-string, and all?" Dimitri guessed dryly.

"Of course!" Ivan exclaimed excitedly. "but actually I'm not wearing a-"

Dimitri held up his hand to stop him from continuing. "There are somethings I just don't need to know that you can keep to yourself."

"Fine, but you'll see it all later so I don't why you're acting shy now."

"Of course I will," Dimitri muttered to himself. "Aren't you at all concerned about what this'll do to your parents?"

"They've long been aware of my impulsiveness and flamboyance. Just like my marriage, this won't come as a shock or be the first time they've seen me in this outfit or as a stripper.'

"Of course it won't."

"However," Ivan went on with a coy, sly smile. "We could've completely avoided this soon to be very interesting and possibly awkward situation. If it wasn't for you and your refusal to give me and my wife the strippers we requested as our wedding gift and I'm sure you didn't buy us the toys we asked and registered for-"

"We actually were going to because Rose knew how much Mia would've been disappointed but after seeing some of the toys they have at those adult shops, Rose got scared, claimed she was traumatized and we left."

"Really?"

"Well, after she bought a few outfits and then we left," Dimitri explained laughing at the memory.

_"What is this even used for?" _

_Rose held up a small metal item that looked like a cross between a paper clip and scissors. _

_"I think that goes in your mouth," Dimitri guessed holding the object up. Then he turned it around. "Or maybe it goes somewhere else."_

_Rose hurriedly grabbed it from him and put it down._

_"Okay that's disturbing. This is all so...weird! When did Mia get into all of this stuff!" she shrieked in the small store. A few other shoppers looked over at them before turning away._

_"You've known her longer. You tell me." Dimitri was genuinely curious how someone became involved in the use of toys and other items. He was starting to think it was more common than he thought it was by how many people were in the store. _

_"You've know Ivan longer than I have and he's older so probably more experienced. How'd he get into all of this?" She gestured to handcuffs hanging on the wall with a ball dangling from a long metal chain in between. _

_Dimitri thought back. "I think it was...freshman year of high school. His first rave."_

_Rose stood with her arms crossed trying to remember Mia's initial involvement in all things sexual. "I think it was that spin the bottle party. You'd be surprised but a lot of people in Montana are freaks and I mean freaky freaks. Even in middle school."_

_"Were you?"_

_he expected Rose to look shocked by the question but she smiled. "Still am," she whispered leaning up to kiss him. Dimitri felt all of the air leave his lungs. Only when she pulled away, her lips parted in a secretive grin, was he able to breathe again. "Just not like this," she said more serious now looking around the store._

_"Always full of surprises aren't you, Roza? Just how wild are you?"_

_She giggled, the sound of her laugh wrapping around him, filling him with warmth. "Get me out of this store and you just might find out."_

_"I thought we came here for a gift for Mia and Ivan?" Dimitri asked but he was following Rose toward the store's exit._

_"We can look for something on Amazon and mail it to them or just get them one of those VISA gift cards and let them buy their own gift for their weird sex games. This store freaks me out." She stopped walking for a moment, Dimitri almost tripping behind her when she turned on her heel facing him. "Besides, don't you want to go back to my place and continue playing our own game, Dr. Belikov?" She whispered sulkily. "I'll let you finish your thorough examination," she tempted._

_She was pulling on his jacket sleeve but Dimitri didn't need any help in moving. He was considering carrying her out of the store if it meant finding out about more of Rose's wild side and finishing the game they'd started before they left her house earlier. Things had been good since he'd moved out. They were actually like a 'sappy couple' now as Ivan had labelled them. _

_Rose stopped halfway out of the store in front of a few clothing racks or actually a bunch of fabric that resembled the remnants of clothes. _

_"This is pretty." Rose held up a short silk camisole that match the tan,c ream color of her skin. She held it up against herself and Dimitri struggled to swallow past the dryness in his throat at the sight of the gown against her. _

_"What do you think, Doctor?" Rose asked seeing Dimitri's expression. "Would you mind doing one of your examinations on me while I'm wearing this?"_

_"There's a lot more I'd want to do than examine you," he whispered. _

"Well I'm sorry you left traumatized but it couldn't have been too bad. Sounds to me like you had a bit of fun on your own,"Ivan grinned cheeky.

Dimitri went on as if he hadn't heard that last part. "I have to say I was a little traumatized myself. I still am and seeing you dressed like that really doesn't help."

Ivan adjusted the lower front part of his costume as if the weren't surrounded by countless staring eyes.

"Again, your fault. And by the way, my wild sex-capades started waaaaay before high school. It was fifth grade when Sonya cornered me under the jungle gym."

Dimitri grabbed Ivan's arm, stopping them both from walking. "My sister Sonya?"

Ivan gave another hundred watt smile, holding onto the one strap from his toga. "She thought I was cute. Surprised she didn't tell you."

"I don't think you were supposed to tell me," Dimitri groan trying to push his nausea down.

"Well the secret is out now. I'm a married man," he said proudly.

"Doesn't mean I can't hurt you."

Ivan held up his hand in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, this is my party and it would be very wrong, for proud, noble, always-does-the-right-thing Dimitri to hurt me at my own party, my belated engagement party at that."

Dimitri shook his head exasperated and playfully shoved his friend aside.

"Besides," Ivan laughed shoving him back. "You owe me."

"For?"

"There. Are. No. Strippers," Ivan enunciated. "Or toys for that matter. You did not provide the entertainment we requested and not to mention you invite both of our parents so...you owe me."

"And how exactly do you expect me to repay you?"

"I'm glad you asked."

Dimitri stood confused as Ivan pulled an outfit out of the front of his own costumed.

"I don't even want to know what else you have stored in there," he muttered.

Ivan unfolded the bundle of clothes and held it up for Dimitri to see.

"No way," Dimitri laughed both nervous and amused.

"You remember, in college, when we promised we'd be each other's best men if weren't going to be bachelors-"

"You're going to hold that against me?"

"Of course I am because you brought this on yourself."

"But I wasn't your best man."

"You're throwing me a party-"

"Lissa and Christian are actually throwing you a party."

"You're dating Lissa's cousin who is also one of my wife's best friend so that's close enough. You remember the bet."

Dimitri sighed, rolling his eyes, wishing they'd both forgotten about it.

_"Bartender, another round!" Ivan ordered._

_"That's a street pole," Dimitri laughed holding onto his drunk friend._

_Actually they were holding onto each other because they were the only thing holding each other up, each with an arm across the other's shoulder._

_"I knew that."_

_"No you didn't," Dimitri chuckled tossing his empty bottle into the trash and missing._

_Ivan exclaimed throwing his hands in the air excitedly when the glass of the Vodka shattered. _

_"These...these are fun times," Ivan sighed letting Dimitri take on the rest of his weight. Dimitri was a bit more sober than his friend even though he was the one getting over another one of Tasha's fits. "I hope it's always like this."_

_"You plan on becoming a drunk doctor?"_

_"Of course! I'll be less nervous during surgery...in fact I'll breeze through it."_

_"You'll probably fall onto the patient."_

_"Probably but it'll be fun!" he laughed chugging the rest of his own Vodka bottle. "What I'm trying to say is...wow you smell good, man," Ivan complimented leaning a bit too close toward Dimitri._

_"Personal space, Ivan. We talked about this." Even slightly drunk, Dimitri wasn't going to let Ivan do one of his sexual experiments on him._

_"Right! I hope you smell this good one your wedding day, and that I, Ivan Belikov, will be honored to be your best man, and do my duty as you best man, and if not then I'll have to..." he stopped speaking for a moment his words becoming gurgles and slurs._

_Dimitri was trying to resist from laughing hard enough so that he didn't drop his friend in the street. He didn't even bother telling him that Belikov wasn't his last name. He just waited for his friend to continue as they made their way home._

_Ivan stopped his stumbling and mumbling in front of a costume store._

_"I got it! If I don't do a good job as your bestest man ever then I have to wear that costume for an entire day," he announced pointing. He slapped Dimitri's shoulder. "Hey, you too. You have to make the promise too. Say, 'Ivan Belikov, I promise to...blah blah blah," Ivan muttered._

_Dimitri shook his head in disbelief. At this point he would've said anything just so that they could get home._

_"Alright I promise," Dimitri said chuckling. _

"I'm letting you off easy."

"I should be making you wear the costume for not allowing me to be there as your best man."

Ivan gestured down to his cupid, greek god crossover costume. "I'm punishing myself but delighting everyone else. So, here's your costume."

Dimitri took the clothes handed out to him shaking his head. "We made that promise when we were drunk, in college. How do you even remember that? You were too hammered."

Ivan tapped the side of his head. "I always remember the important stuff."

"Oh yeah? What's your wife's maiden name?"

Ivan thought for a moment. "It starts with...a letter."

"You genius you," Dimitri muttered sarcastically. "I can't believe you're making me do this."

"I'm not making you do anything best friend since birth who has never before denied me the pleasure of happiness and entertainment nor has broken a promise."

"Laying it on a bit thick Zecklos," Dimitri muttered. "I'm glad you're not playing the guilt card."

"Would I do that to my best friend who didn't uphold his promise to throw me the party of my dreams?"

"Yes."

"Yeah I would. But I'm not making you wear the costume. I'm giving you the choice of being the honorable friend you've always been by helping me to entertain my guest, and they will be entertained, or you can not wear the costume and it wouldn't change our friendship in the least."

"Liar," Dimitri muttered.

Ivan feigned hurt. "Our friendship means more to me than some drunken promise. I'll just never look at you the same way again."

Dimitri shook his head exasperated as he headed toward the changing room Ivan pointed him to.

* * *

"Don't be surprised if Rose starts to question your relationship after this," Ivan said as the two walked toward the outdoors area where the party was being held.

"My sense of humor is completely gone while I'm wearing this," Dimitri said tugging his outfit down.

"I wasn't kidding." Ivan punched his friend's arm playfully. "Lighten up. We'll look back on this one day and laugh."

"Doubtful."

"Well, I'll laugh. And they're laughing," Ivan pointed out the hotel guests staring at them as they passed.

"This is ridiculous. You know what? I'm willing to risk our friendship over this. Goodbye."

Dimitri started to turn away but Ivan locked his arm through Dimitri's. "Too late, people have already seen you."

"I am a respected inner city doctor-"

"Whose patient list might increase after this."

"Again, doubtful."

"People will see you as a fun, carefree doctor and then they'll want-"

"No, they'll question my sanity." Ivan laughed. Dimitri tugged his arm from Ivan's. "Never hold my arm like that again, especially while I'm wearing this and you're wearing that."

"Ready?" Ivan asked as the neared the doors leading outside.

Dimitri just sighed.

"I'll take _that_ as a yes."


	50. Chapter 50: Rose and Dimitri

_**Rose**_

"Should I be concerned and looking for a new boyfriend or is this just some midlife crisis, phase thing you have going on?"

Dimitri tugged on the bottom of his Scottish kilt.

"I can explain."

Rose downed the rest of her drink, tipping up her black masquerade mask to do so, trying to smother the laughter building up inside her, wishing she had another. On cue, a waiter passed by. She replaced the empty glass in her hand with one of the full ones on the tray, not even caring what drink it was.

"Isn't that what they all say?" She was teasing because she liked the light blush that filled Dimitri's tanned cheeks.

She thought it was cute.

"You know I saw this show once where this woman walked in on her husband and another man in the closet and the first thing out of his mouth, beside the other man, was 'I can explain'. Is that you Dimitri? Are you the man in the closet?"

She laughed until her sides hurt, some of the alcohol taking effect.

"I'm glad you can laugh at my pain," Dimitri said dryly tugging on the back of the kilt. "I don't understand how you girls wear these things," he complained.

"I don't wear kilts. Actually _most_ girls don't wear kilts." He tugged on the back of it again. "You're really not helping your case there, doctor," she giggled, sipping her drink.

Dimitri stopped pulling on the costume, frustrated and reddened. "Aww, come on. Don't be mad. I think you look cute."

She leaned up on her toes, setting her glass down, and wrapped her arms around Dimitri's neck. She nuzzled the side of his neck, darting her tongue across his warm skin. She could feel him relax significantly as his arms held her small frame, returning the embrace.

"I should punish you for laughing by banning you from my apartment for the next few days."

"You wouldn't?" She could help giggle at the end.

"I _will_ withhold my favors," Dimitri said jokingly serious.

Rose was still giggling but she tried to focus on the memories of being at Dimitri's new apartment.

_"What do you think?"_

_Leaving Dimitri and the apartment manager in the living room, Rose walked in and out of every room of the large apartment, her heels clicking against the hard wood floors._

_She was excited about being able to see the glamorous, high-rise apartments in the city that she'd never been in before. The only other glamorous apartment she'd been in had been Adrian's and that was more like a dungeon in hell than an apartment. _

_"It's amazing!" she called from the largest bedroom. _

_Dimitri and the manager came to join Rose in the master bedroom. _

_"It is one of our finer condos," the manager informed them smiling at Rose's excited state. Rose skipped and leaped from the master bedroom, to the bathroom, to the balcony, to the large closet. _

_"Excuse her. She suffering from an apartment hunting high," Dimitri joked, catching Rose as she was leaping by. She stumbled into his arms and turned to face him._

_"I like this one. Do you? It doesn't seem like something you'd buy."_

_"Why do you say that?" Dimitri asked giving a one-sided grin._

_"Because, yeah, you had an elegant house in the suburbs and you drive a Yukon. Not to mention you dress pretty nicely but the westerns, the old duster you keep in the back of your closet that is not machine washable by the way, and all of those photos you have of the forest tells me that you're not a city man, Belikov."_

_He seemed stunned that she'd guessed correctly. "I'm more successful as a doctor living in the city than I would be living in the middle of nowhere."_

_"I can see you living in a cottage or maybe a mobile home with your dog Dusty," Rose described._

_"That's a far off dream for retirement. Besides, it'd be a lot easier to see you if we live in the same general area."_

_"Are you sure? I mean I love the place but do you? You're the one living here."_

_"Are you trying to get rid of me?" His arms tightened around Rose waist as his soft lips pulled into a smile. _

_"No, I just want you to be happy. It's been a tough year. You should have your man cave," she grinned locking her arms around his neck. She tugged gently at the soft feel of the ends of his loose, curly hair. "You're still welcome at Casa de Roza. Are you sure you wanna leave? We could play honeymoon."_

_"Tempting but...we agreed this was better." And boy did he look tempted. The smoldering, dark look in his eyes made Rose squirm in his hold trying to ignore the heat spreading out to all parts of her body. "I'll have you here to keep me company and break in the new place."_

_"So you'll take it?" the manager said, interrupting them. Both Rose and Dimitri jumped at the sound of his voice forgetting he was even there._

_Without looking away from Rose Dimitri answered, "Rose likes it so yes, I'll take it."_

_"Great!" he exclaimed._

_"Great," Rose exclaimed a bit more quietly "I'm glad. I was hoping you'd take it!" She squealed._

_"It's only temporary until we decided what we're going to do with the rest of our lives," Dimitri told her with a bit of fear in his eyes hoping he didn't push her too soon. She returned with a smile. _

_She was happy to see him like his old self, happy and smiling, and flirty. Lately it seemed as if he'd been keeping something from her. She'd asked him if anything was wrong or that he wanted to tell her but he'd shrug it off and distract her with kisses. Twice now it seemed he'd tried and started to tell her something but the words would die off on his lips before even a sound was made and he'd dismiss the thought all together._

_"Only temporary," she repeated, promising that there would come a time when they sat and figured out what they were going to do permanently. Just not yet. It was too soon. _

_Sure, she still wanted to talk to him about his reaction to her pregnancy and everything else going on afterward but not now, not yet._

_For now, they promised to just have fun, see where everything goes, and take everything one day at a time._

_"I might just buy that imaginary cottage of your one day," he joked leaving them laughing quietly to themselves. _

_She grabbed a hold of either side of his face and kissed him, pulling away before she took it too far with manager still standing there. Dimitri moaned low enough for only rose to hear at how quickly she pulled away. She pressed her finger to his lips. "Later," she whispered. "When we break in the new apartment." Dimitri gave a her small smile of content, sneaking in a quick peck on Rose's neck before she turned toward the manager still in Dimitri's embrace. _

_"So, will there be enough room for half my wardrobe or can we extend the closet?" _

_Dimitri chuckled against her hair, "For half of your wardrobe we'll need another apartment completely."_

"You know, you do have pretty sexy legs," Rose muttered against his skin.

She was hoping to get into his good graces again remembering the long nights they spent 'breaking in' the condo.

"Ivan thinks so too," Dimitri groaned. "Actually he has more appreciation for his own legs."

They both laughed and looked over at Ivan who was casually hanging one arm over Mia's shoulder talking animatedly to her parents while holding a drink in the other hand.

"He does look pretty good himself," Rose complimented. "But, you look tempting." She tugged on his loose, white tunic.

"Really?" Dimitri asked intrigued.

"Yeah. I love a man in costume and uniform."

"That's good to know," Dimitri smiled to himself. He held Rose in one hand as they walked toward the food area. "Next time I'll be sure to wear scrubs home from work."

"But you're not a surgeon," Rose laughed.

"Who cares. I'll buy some if it means turning you on."

He pecked a laughing Rose on the head with a kiss as they reached the food table.

"How about a strip tease later?" Rose suggested.

"In public or at my place?"

"I can't have both?" Rose teased. "I think half the guest or expecting it anyway."

"You can have both depending on hoe drunk I am." Tears built-in Rose's eyes as she laughed.

Lissa appeared on the other side of the table holding a clip board. She wore a green velvet, sleeveless dress with a matching masquerade, birdlike mask.

"I think the party turned out definitely well," she noted glancing at Dimitri and Ivan's costumes. "Well, most of it."

"I didn't mean to spoil your party plans, Liss. Ivan made me because of some promise we made a while ago," Dimitri explained.

She nodded, disbelieving.

"Everyone looks like they're having a good time though," Rose noted, hoping to change the subject.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rinaldi looked a little weirded out, though," Lissa commented.

"Actually they look kind of sloshed," Dimitri noticed.

The older couple, swayed, both of their masks on their heads, the one on Mrs. Rinaldi's was crooked. They were still listening to whatever animated story Ivan was telling and Mia, in her pink, hand-held mask, was nodding along too as if Ivan were the most interesting story-teller in the world.

_She really must be in love, _Rose noted.

"Can you blame them?" Rose asked. "Not only are they meeting their daughter's husband for the first time but they're meeting him wearing a dress."

"A toga," Lissa and Dimitri corrected in unison.

"As if that's an improvement," she snorted.

Dimitri playfully tugged on the end of Rose's dark mask that only shielded around her eyes. She swatted him away smiling and readjusting it.

"His greek cupid costume totally clashed with my elegant, masquerade evening theme," Lissa complained grabbing Rose's drink and finishing it. "And really, Dimitri? A kilt!"

"Part of the bet," he said simply.

"Well, you do look pretty good," she noted.

Dimitri blushed and Rose had to keep herself from laughing.

"Hey, don't Scottish men wear kilts without anything else underneath?" Rose asked amused.

Lissa lifted her dark brows in curiosity.

"Ask me again when I'm seconds from passing out."

Both Lissa and Rose laughed. Lissa turned to talk to a member of the hotel staff that was trying to get her attention.

"You're russian. Isn't it kind of weird that you're wearing a Scottish outfit?" Rose asked once Lissa was out of earshot.

Dimitri scoffed. "_This_ russian pulls off this Scottish outfit pretty well. Besides, you're Irish and turkish. Do you find it weird wearing an italian made dress that, I might add, you look pretty damn good in?"

Rose adjusted the thick straps of the low-cut, black dress Dimitri had bought for her. She could see the appretiation and admiration in his eyes at the sight of the dress on her.

_"No."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because our relationship has had nothing but speed bumps since we got together and you buying me expensive dressed like this wouldn't help," Rose huffed._

_She looked tempted though. She had to resist the urge to let her twitching had reach out and touch the dress that Dimitri had pulled out of the back of his closet and laid in front of her on his bed._

_"You're not making any sense, Roza."_

_Rose ran her hands through her hair a few times unable to completely straighten it out. _

_"You're a rich doctor."_

_"True," Dimitri nodded sitting on the foot of the bed. Rose was trying to not get distracted by the fact that he was only wearing his dark jeans and his sculpted chest was exposed and bare._

_"It also doesn't hurt that you're good-looking."_

_"Again, I'd have to agree with you," Dimitri responded, confusion still on his voice. _

_"You're also significantly older than me."_

_"Also true."_

_He waited patiently for Rose to continue._

_She pulled herself out from under the dark, heavy comforter that covered Dimitri's bed and settled herself closer, in front of him. She should've been cool wearing only a dark tank top and her matching underwear but with Dimitri so close she was more than warm._

_"You're a rich, good-looking doctor," Rose repeated. "I'm a sexy, unemployed, low-class, soon-to-be nineteen year old."_

_Dimitri had started caressing the side of Rose's bare arm at the mention of her being sexy, his long finger leaving an inflamed trail along her skin. Rose was losing her focus._

_"Get the picture?" She asked waiting for him to put the pieces together._

_Dimitri shook his head, his dark brows lowered._

_"It would look incredibly bad if you started buying me expensive things. I don't want to look like a gold digger!"_

_Dimitri almost broke out laughing but he saw the serious look on Rose's face and only wore a lopsided smirk._

_"You're not a gold digger."_

_"You know that, I know that but everyone else-"_

_"forget everyone else. It's just me and you in this relationship last I checked," Dimitri said dismissing her worries. _

_Rose could feel the familiar feeling of fear churning in her stomach. "It's not just that though, Dimitri." She squirmed, sitting on her legs on the large bed, playing with Dimitri's hand in hers. "I don't want to be like my mother, or go back to the way Adrian use to treat me, or...like Tasha."_

_Now Dimitri looked really confused. He looked away from her trying to piece all of Rose's worries together. She expected to almost hear the click when it all came together and made sense but it never came._

_"What does your mother, Adrian, or Tasha have to do with any of this?"_

_Rose sighed, laying back on the bed. "For a doctor, you're extremely slow when it comes to putting thing together. I'm glad you didn't become an FBI agent or detective or anything."_

_"You're not giving me much to work with." Dimitri leaned over Rose, his hands on either side of her body, holding his weight over her. He pried her arm from her face. "And by the way, you're not unemployed or low-class. I told you that you always have a job working for me at the new clinic, even though you said you don't want to be the 'ho sleeping with the boss'. And you live in a pretty nice house for low-class." She smiled at his words but still didn't speak. "Just tell me Roza."_

_"My father was wealthy, somewhat. He use to by my mother gifts things she never asked for. All she wanted was his love but he-"_

_"substituted his love for gifts?"_

_Rose nodded._

_"Adrian use to bring me gifts when he wanted..._something_," she told Dimitri emphasizing the word something. Dimitri just nodded, wordlessly, but she could see the clench of his jaw. "And then there's Tasha. When you two were together, don't tell me you didn't buy her expensive gifts like this?"_

_Dimitri exhaled through his nose finally understanding, she could see. "When I bought gifts for Tasha, which was rare because she used my credit cards to buy her own gifts, it wasn't out of affection like it is with you."_

_"Then why did you buy them?" Rose asked curious. She leaned up on her elbows resting her weight ont hem._

_Dimitri lowered his head, almost looking ashamed. He sat up, leaning off of Rose and standing. He ran a hand over his scruffy face before speaking. "You could say when I bought gifts for Tasha it was either to keep her quiet from her complaining or because of the same reasons as your father and Adrian."_

_Rose could feel her eyes widen and then softening. "That was the old you. You've changed a lot since then."_

_"I have, haven't I?" Dimitri asked proudly._

_Rose smiled. "Yeah, you have. You became a loving, affectionate man who doesn't need to buy me gifts to show me he cares about me."_

_She was sitting on the edge of the bed now reaching out for him again. She didn't like when he was so far away even though he stood less than two feet away. In one quick motion he grabbed a hold of her, sweeping her onto his lap so that they both sat on the bed in a warm, close embrace._

_"That's not the only reason I buy you gifts. Yeah I care about you but I bought the dress because I saw how much you liked it when we saw it when we went out the other day and I wanted to make you happy. Not to mention I know how great you'll look in it and I get to be the one to tear it off of you later," he whispered against her ear._

_She held his arms tight around her waist, close to her stomach. It seemed they'd come a long way so quickly from being worried over a pregnancy to arguing over a new dress. _

_"True."_

_"Plus, it's part of your birthday gift soon-to-be nineteen year old. So what do you say? Will you accept the dress?"_

_Rose thought about it for only a moment before leaping from his lap and grabbing the dress from where it hung. She held it up to her appreciatively, twirling around, touching the clingy material._

_"It's beautiful and I love it Dimitri. Of course I'll accept it. Thank you, Dimitri." She jumped into him, planting a long, kiss on his lips that left both of them breathless. _

_Rose pulled away, grinning."You did say this was _part_ of my birthday gift, right?"_

"You have a good point Belikov," Rose agreed as Dimitri laughed and Lissa returned, an odd expression on her face.

"You okay, cuz?"

Lissa looked up from the paper she was clipping to her clipboard and nodded her head. "Yeah, fine. It isn't easy being a party planner." Rose could see the fake smile her cousin plastered on her face but she wouldn't push it now. This was supposed to be a party.

Lissa quickly took the silence as an opportunity to change the subject and leave.

"I hope you're ready to play games in that kilt," Lissa informed him grabbing another drink.

"We'll be playing a few games of our own a little later," Rose muttered low enough for only Dimitri to hear.

They shared a smile. Lissa, missing the comment, just glances from each of them with a questioning smirk and shrugged.

"Well, I'm on party planner duty."

She went off in search of Christian. Rose made a mental note to question her later.

"Maybe you should go with her," Rose suggested seconds after Lissa left.

"What? Why?"

"Because, you haven't talked to Christian since...well it's been a while. I don't want things to be awkward. Lissa expects us to have one of those corny double date things and it would be best if you two were talking," Rose explained.

Dimitri seemed uncertain, his thoughts wandering off.

Rose thoughts wandered off, along with her worries over Lissa, to a place of their own.

* * *

_**Dimitri**_

Dimitri had only ever been scared a few times in his life and most of those experiences included Rose.

The thought of talking to Christian scared him.

For one thing he didn't know what to say to the nephew of the woman who threatened, plotted, and almost succeeded in killing Rose. It also didn't help that christian had always looked at Dimitri as a player, the man single-handedly ruining his aunt's life. Also, Dimitri couldn't help but think that it would be extremely hard to have such a serious conversation while he was wearing a kilt.

"I'll just drink a lot of alcohol before hand," he muttered to himself finishing his drink.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Nothing."

"You've done that a lot lately," Rose noted.

"Doing what?"

"You always seem like you're about to tell me something and then you just brush it away. What is it?"

Dimitri wasn't sure what she was talking about at first and then he remembered. He'd tried to tell her about the inevitable surgery he was supposed to have in less than a week but he'd either get distracted by an opportunity to kiss her or it just didn't feel like the right time.

Right now, in his kilt and at a party definitely didn't seem like the right time.

"Not here. We should talk about it later."

Rose bit down on her bottom lip, unsatisfied by his answer but she didn't say anything.

It was amazing how quickly the mood had changed, the first time this had happened since...actually it was the first time they seemed genuinely upset with one another since the pregnancy scare.

The rest of the party went pretty smoothly with the amazing food, a few wild drinking games as Lissa had promised and Mia and Ivan were proud of, and even dancing.

"I'm not dancing in a kilt."

Rose pulled him up by his arms. Or tried to.

"Please. We haven't once danced as a couple."

Dimitri could see the pleading look in her eyes and he was happy that she'd at least forgotten about their impending talk earlier.

"I'd love to dance with you but not in a kilt."

"Ivan!" she called over her shoulder.

His toga, cupid clad friend appeared moments later, a little off-balance with Mia's pink mask stuck within the ring of flowers wrapped around his head.

"Yes my flowery friend!" he responded too loudly.

"I think my friend has a drinking problem," Dimitri muttered.

Rose shot him a look before speaking.

"It's been hours since Dimitri's put this kilt on, can he take it off now so that he'll dance with me? If you say no, you're depriving a girlfriend of the opportunity to dance with her boyfriend for the first time," Rose said relying on guilt.

Dimitri stared up at her from his seat at their table. It was the first time she'd used the word 'boyfriend' in reference to him and, although Dimitri wouldn't admit it out loud, it made him feel good inside...and like a young teenager again.

Ivan seemed to think about it before responding. "Okay. Dimitri doesn't have to wear the kilt anymore..."

"I sense a but coming," Rose murmured.

"But...he doesn't get to take it off."

"You're really drunk aren't you?" Rose commented. "That makes no sense."

Dimitri had a feeling of where this was going.

"Everyone here has the opportunity to undress my kilted friend here!" Ivan shouted above the music.

A group of single women, friends of Mia's from her job at the bar, and a couple of gay men turned in their direction. Dimitri found himself standing but didn't remember doing so. He could see the eager, playful fun in their mask covered eyes.

"Ivan!" they both shouted but he just laughed tripping over a chair and falling over.

Rose stepped in front of Dimitri with her arms extended.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen...and Mia. Mia!" Rose tried to calm the crowd nearing them but noticed Mia standing in the front stepping over Ivan.

"What? It's a party, Rose and I am not missing the opportunity of de-clothing your smoken hot russian boyfriend."

"Me either." Rose looked toward Mia and Ivan's mothers who had spoken in unison. They paused, surprised by the agreement, before inching closer toward Dimitri.

"You should be the first one to want to undress him," Mia exclaimed.

Dimitri could see Rose look toward Lissa for help but she shrugged her shoulders smiling, probably grateful it was Christian these women were lusting after.

"I get to undress him all the time and it's really not all you expect it to be."

"Hey!" Dimitri shouted.

"I'm trying to calm the crowd," Rose whispered out of the side of her mouth to him.

"Then you shouldn't have a turn to undress him now!" Someone from the back of the crowd shouted, a familiar voice but Dimitri couldn't see who.

He only saw the excited, gleaming eyes of the masked crowed, most of them dressed alike in black.

The crowd was closer now.

"I suggest you run," Rose whispered to Dimitri realizing the situation wasn't going ot get any better. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek quickly before stepping aside.

"Ladies. I give you Dimitri to undress if you get Ivan first," Rose announced giving him some time to run.

They took the bait, Ivan attempting but failing to move from his spot on the ground as they reached for any part of his costume they could while Dimitri snuck away unnoticed for only a few moments.

"He's getting away!" Mia shrieked.

He made it to the elevator within inches of the grasps of women he never thought could run so fast. He'd lost his shirt in the process but he was just grateful, for the first time that night, to still have his kilt.

* * *

_**Rose**_

"You could've helped," Rose said coming to stand beside Lissa.

"It was more fun this way," she giggled. Rose socked her cousin in the arm playfully.

They laughed, talking about the party, until Rose remembered Lissa's dark expression earlier. She wore the same worried look now.

"Liss, what's wrong? And so help me, if you pull a Dimitri and say 'nothing' I'm going to slap you. Now spill."

Lissa seemed surprised and amused by her cousin's outburst. "I don't know if I should tell you."

"Why? We tell each other everything."

Lissa pulled Rose aside, making sure no one else was listening.

"I don't want to worry you, Rose," she whispered.

"Worry me about what?"

One of the hotel guards approached them handing Lissa a paper. "We made copies. All of the staff has one of the flyer notices now," he told Lissa.

She nodded stiffly as he left.

Rose quickly grabbed a hold of the paper the guard had returned to Lissa.

"Tasha?"

It was a photo of Tasha with a caption around the image warning everyone to be on the look out.

"What's this for?"

"Rose, calm down. I don't want to worry you. It's just...that detective came by the other day when I was at the house waiting for you and Dimitri and he told me that Tasha..." Lissa's voice shook as she spoke.

Rose couldn't remember seeing her cousin so nervous before.

"He told you what?"

"He told me that they found out that Tasha is still in town and to keep an eye out in case-"

"In case she comes after me. Again!"

"Rose calm down."

Rose was far from calming down.

"I tried to handle this myself without worrying you. I handed out fliers, warning posters to the hotel staff to be on the look out but that might be kind of hard with everyone in masks," Lissa explained removing her own mask uncomfortable.

She paced in the little side area they stood off in balling the paper up in her hands and then uncrumbling it again in a pattern.

"Why didn't you say anything before!" she felt guilty for yelling at her cousin, the messenger, but under these circumstances she couldn't help it.

"I didn't want to ruin the first good night we were all having since..."

"Since the bitch kidnapped me the first time?"

"Actually Adrian kidnapped you," Lissa corrected reluctantly.

"Whatever, she would've been apart of it if Adrian hadn't gone all postal."

"I'm sorry, Rosie. I just didn't want to ruin the good mood you were in tonight. I mean you should've seen yourself, you were having fun and smiling the way you use to before life became so crazy," Lissa apologized hysterically.

She dropped her clip board on the table and quickly leaped into her cousin wrapping her in one of those bone crushing hugs.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

Rose didn't hesitate to return the hug. Lissa felt warm and familiar, like home, sending similar feelings to how Rose felt when she hugged Dimitri.

"It's not your fault, L." She sighed squeezing her cousin extra heard for good measure to let her know she wasn't that mad at her. "You always have good intentions. It's just...all of this makes me feel uneasy. You're right, I was feeling good tonight but to find o ut I'm not as safe as I thought I was...I mean I knew she was out there but..."

"I get it," Lissa said cutting her off pulling back from the hug. "But you know none of us would ever let anything to happen to you like that again."

_It happened the first time, _Rose thought and she immediately regretted it.

"I know," she nodded.

She pushed her hair out of her face twisting it into a loose ponytail at her neck. The touch of her own skin felt hot, nervous, under her fingers. Suddenly the air outside was stifling.

_If that makes any sense. _

They stood silent.

Suddenly the fun and excitement from the party became a dull roar in Rose's ears. She didn't feel like having fun and dancing any more. She didn't want to go home and be alone either. She removed her masquerade mask not feeling the magic behind it anymore.

She felt uneasy and unsure of what she wanted.

_I wanna feel safe, _she thought, remembering Dimitri.

"So we're okay?" Lissa ask making sure.

"We're good."

"Are _you _going to be okay?"

Rose opened her mouth to answer but she was unsure about how to respond.

"I will be."

The truth, no she wasn't going to be okay but she would be if she had Dimitri right now.

And then she ran off to go find him.

* * *

_**Dimitri**_

Feeling like his old, comfortable self in his button down, jeans, and dress shoes, Dimitri relaxed a bit.

It was also a relief to have escaped the trail of women that had chased after him like savages. He'd waited a while in the hotel room Ivan and Mia had rented, making sure all the woman were gone from the door, taking the bait when Dimitri tossed his remaining costume outside of the door.

He was eager to get back to Rose, though. He'd promised her a dance and, as always, he intended to keep that promise.

He moved quickly to the hotel room door, hurrying to make it down stairs before the music stopped and the party ended. He pulled open the hotel room door and was actually startled when he found someone standing on the other side of the door in a dark dress, her long hair hanging past her shoulders.

"Rose?"

In the dim light of the hallway and with the dark mask covering her eyes, Dimitri couldn't see clearly enough to be sure it was Rose. The figure looked like her but something was off.

She stood differently than Rose normally did with confidence, her back straight, erect, usually with her arms folded or one of her hands on her hips. Also, she was noticeably taller.

_I guess I didn't escape the group of women that well after all,_ he thought.

Before he could say anything to the woman her big smile distracted him. He told himself to relax his racing heart because it could just be Rose, finishing what they'd started earlier when they left for the party.

It seemed unlikely though.

Something was definitely off.

The figure just smiled. Dimitri could see the brightness of the figure's teeth and stepped forward. She grabbed a hold of Dimitri, her long finger nails digging into the skin of his scruffed cheeks.

"I missed you."

Dimitri could feel his blood freeze at the woman's close proximity and that he recognised the familiar voice. Before he could process moving away, she pulled him in.

She made a small amused sound before pressing her lips to his.

_Natasha. _

* * *

_**Rose**_

Rose had never run so fast in her life.

She use to like running and playing when she was a kid but a few years out of practice and it came in handy as a teenager when she, Lissa, and Mia had to run from a party they'd crashed with friends or a liquor store they pocketed liquor from.

With a few years out of practice though Rose's joints were shouting at her to slow down and to not run so fast.

She had to get to Dimitri.

Just seeing him would be enough to make her feel safe again even if it was only for a moment.

She ran past questioning stairs in the lobby and even took the stairs instead of the elevator when she saw that it would take too long for it to arrive.

She ditched the flats she'd been wearing, tossing them on some random stairwell. Every move felt like she'd get there quicker without the shoes but she still felt so far away and the dreading, fearful feeling in her stomach was growing.

She finally made it to the floor of Ivan and Mia's hotel room, panting and covered in a thin layer of sweat but she was there.

She felt herself smiling at the thought of catching Dimitri alone, hopefully he'd been able to ditch his fangirl group.

She rounded the corner of the hallway, walking toward the hotel room while looking over her shoulder. She had the sensation she was being watched or followed but the floor was empty.

When she turned around, facing the hallway where the room was she stopped and froze.

There stood Dimitri, dressed in his own clothes and kissing someone else.

Rose could feel all expression completely fall from her face and all emotions disappear, replaced by bone chilling cold.

She felt like falling to the ground. In all honesty she wasn't sure if she was more upset by the fact that Dimitri was kissing someone else or if it was just the sight of the woman standing there, holding someone who was never hers to begin with.

Despite the fact that Rose couldn't see clearly enough in the dim hotel hallway light, all of her instincts screamed that there was only one person that familiar figure could be confirming her fears.

Rose felt her breathing constrict and she gasped.

"Tasha."

* * *

_**A/N: There was an amazing response and I'm glad so many of you liked the chapter. Just wanted to point out that we made it to fifty chapters and over 700 reviews! AMAZING! **_


	51. Chapter 51: Dimitri and Rose

_**Dimitri**_

He had his first kiss when he was ten. The girl, whose name escapes him to this day, was one year older and Dimitri thought he was in love. His next kiss was about a week after, word having spread about how skilled and good-looking young Dimitri was.

Dimitri thought he was in love then too with every pair of lips he came across.

As time passed, though, and the exciting feeling of pressing his lips against someone else's faded into a familiar bland feeling that's left him feeling empty over the years.

And then he went to a coffee shop, bumped into someone he'd initially blamed for ruining his perfect day, and from that moment on all kisses paled in comparison.

Right now though, Dimitri was having trouble remembering that great feeling each time he kissed Rose because it was being replaced by the cold emptiness of Tasha's being there. He tried to focus on it, remember the warmth and softness of her lips but he couldn't.

He was in shock and surprise...and unsure of why he was even letting this kiss go on.

At the moment that the thought passed through his mind he heard an audible gasp and pulled away.

_Rose._

She stood an arm's length away with her trembling hand inches from her mouth hovering in the air.

Dimitri thought he understood her reaction. Fear because the woman who'd tried to ruin and end her life was standing a mere few inches away, smiling a smug smirk. And looking from Tasha's expression to Rose, Dimitri understood the looked in Rose's eyes...betrayal and confusion but mostly hurt.

He reached out for her but she flinched stepping back.

"Rose, it's not what it seems."

Dimitri rolled his eyes inwardly at himself. Isn't that what every man says. He had ot admit the situation itself did look pretty bad but he felt a little hurt himself that Rose didn't trust him enough to know he wouldn't do anything, especially not this, to hurt her and, especially, not with Tasha.

"Surprised?" Tasha asked Rose. "Not as much of a saint as you thought he was, is he? Considering how much he betrayed me I'm surprised you're stupid enough to think that he wouldn't do the same to you."

She lifted her black mask and hooked her hands on the collars of Dimitri's shirt. Dimitri stepped away from her forcing her hands away.

"Rose-"

Rose started to back away. Dimitri could see the rise and fall of her chest because of her labored breathing.

"Stay away from me."

He wasn't sure who shew as referring to them because her wide gaze was darting between the two.

The stubborn man he is, not willing to lose the one thing he's wanted and almost lost again, Dimitri walked toward her anyway.

"I wouldn't-"

"Please, Dimitri, don't."

Those three words and the pleading behind them stopped him in his tracks. Rose took that opportunity to cast one last long glance at Tasha before turning and running from the way she'd come, barefoot and all, her hair swinging behind her, coming undone from the tie it had been in.

As soon as she was out of sight and Dimitri stood debating whether to go after he or just to give her space, he turned in one swift motion and leaped toward Tasha.

He'd grabbed a hold of her forearms forcing her against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing here!" he heard himself ask in russian.

"Always so rough, lover, I love it!"

Dimitri could feel his brows lower. "You really are insane and stupid too thinking that you'd just show up and I wouldn't try to hurt you for what you did and tried to do!"

Tasha just laughed, twisting her wrist in such a way that she had an equal hold on Dimitri.

"You think this is funny! Screwing with people lives is a joke to you!"

"I think it's funny that you're fighting for a girl who clearly doesn't want you...not as much as me. They never want you as much as I do, do they Dimka."

Dimitri could feel his muscles clench at his familiar nickname. Her words were like different stab wounds to his skin. She really was insane and he couldn't understand how he had not seen it before.

He reasoned that he just hadn't cared about her enough to notice small changes in Tasha over the years but that was only partially it. He was a doctor, trained in all fields of medicine, some more than others, but he'd learned the basics of the clinically insane and this woman was it. The thought that he'd been ready to spend his life with hers drove him made, made him hate himself a bit, and made him a bit sick.

He cringed just thinking about it all. Yes, Tasha wasn't dealing with a full deck but that wasn't just it...there was something else in those bottomless, cold blue eyes.

She was crazy, yes, but these were her genuine emotions.

He wondered what he'd done to make this woman feel so infatuated, not in love, it definitely wasn't love, with him.

"What happened to you?" he found himself asking aloud. He wasn't shouting anymore. His voice was barely above a whisper and he wasn't sure she'd even heard him until she saw the questioning look mirrored on her face.

They both stood silently.

Dimitri was stunned by Tasha' brief surprise and loss of words. Tashe seemed stunned by his question.

He let go of her wrist and stepped away horrified by the role he played in her insanity, fearful of what her presence has done to effect his relationship with Rose, and just plain confused by how complicated life has become and questioning if it's always like this or did he make it this way.

"You seemed frightened, Dimitri." Tasha noted, recovering from her earlier shock. "Healthy relationship just aren't good for you. You need someone who truly appreciates and values you and what you have. You don't need someone who is so quick to walk away. Did you see how hurt she was? Even I felt a little sorry for her," Tasha laughed. "She was too quick to leave you though and you see how I'm fighting for you so I don't see why you're making this so hard."

"Why are you doing this?"

Tasha's smile disappeared instantly. "Because you _thought_ you could ruin my life, I feel it's owed to me to ruin yours...or at least be a part of it," she shrugged casually.

"So do the games continue or do you want to come willingly? No pun intended," she smirked.

Dimitri ran his hands over his face pushing his hair back. "This is all everything is to you. A game that no one wants to play. You're two other players are dead and you will be too if you don't stay the hell away from us."

She scoffed. "Us? I don't see your lovely Rose by your side now as I have been. clearly-"

"Clearly you need to leave," he interrupted. "You're wanted for attempted murder and if I wasn't so anxious to find Rose now I might knock you out and turn you in myself. Now go."

Dimitri knew he was taking a risk just letting Tasha walk but she wouldn't hurt anyone that wasn't in connection to Dimitri and from now on, he promised to vigilant about that.

How she had gotten so close this time without anyone noticing, he couldn't figure out.

She stood a moment longer and then smiled one-sided, leaping at him quickly to kiss him but, in the mood Dimitri was in, even with the slight pain in his back from the bullet still being there, he was faster. He grabbed a hold of her and held her away shoving her against the wall again.

The move affected her so much she seemed dizzied before sliding down to the floor. he didn't kneel to see if he'd killed her or done any damage. He didn't care. instead he walked swiftly back into the bedroom in search of his cell phone.

his body ached. His doctor had warned against stress and intense situations for fear that the bullet could shift ever so slightly before removal. Dimitri wished he'd told Rose about the surgery he'd need because telling her anything after this could only make matters and the situation seem much worse, but he wished even more that she was here now.

_**Rose**_

_Run_

Rose could feel her feet moving, pounding against the cool, hard pavement of the outside of the hotel in search of a way out.

Her first thoughts had all been of Dimitri, his attempts to explain but she could think or react clearly with that woman around. The furthest thought in her mind was to call the police. When she realized she should she'd been outside of the hotel for over twenty minutes and the wails of sirens were ringing in the far off distance.

_Dimitri must've called._

The hotel was mostly empty now because of the late hour. The party guests had dispersed when Rose disappeared in search of Dimitri and there was no one familiar in sight. She sat outside, shivering against the cold even though it was an unusually warm May night, uncertain of what to do.

She decided to wait.

_For the police, Lissa, anyone to appear...maybe even Dimitri._

When the sound of someone's arrival behind her alerted her, her heart beats skipped and then restarted its usual pattern when she saw it was only Christian.

"Lissa been looking for you."

He didn't sound to concerned himself. He stood in the doorway leading into the lobby with his hands in the pockets of his pants. When Rose didn't answer his face seemed a bit more concerned, expressing worry.

"Are you alright-" he cut himself off glancing back into the hotel once before moving to stand in front of Rose leaning against one of the pillars. "You saw her, didn't you?"

Rose looked up in surprise. "How did you-"

"The police came through the back of the hotel to not make a scene. When Lissa and I went to look for you we found Dimitri instead. He said Tasha had been there but she was gone when he came out of the room. He said you took off."

Rose just nodded.

"He wasn't trying to hurt you, Rose." The sincere words surprised Rose so much she felt her neck pop at turning so quickly to look at him. He went on as if he couldn't see the obvious surprise on her face. "You running off really left him shocked because when we got up there he was practically in shock. He said he was surprised by Tasha's being there and he thought it was you at first."

"I believe you," she said simply. "Or...I guess I believe him actually. Seeing her there just-"

"Shocked you? Now you know how he felt."

Rose wished he was there, the same as before when she'd run off looking for him.

Christian sighed before moving slowly to sit beside her.

The awkward tension was clear in the air. Rose remembered Lissa telling her that Christian had promised that he didn't blame her for anything that happened and he wasn't mad at her. she wondered if that was still true. Having Tasha brought up each time they came across one another probably wasn't helping matters.

"This is weird."

Christian glanced at her questioningly. "What is?"

"We've never liked each other but now there's even more reason not to, if that makes any sense."

He rubbed his hands together leaning forward on his knees, resting his elbows, silent.

"Seems like we're not supposed to get along," Rose laughed without any humor.

"Why not? We have more in common now. Before we only had Lissa in common now we have Tasha in common and Dimitri and Adrian...Mia and Ivan on some weird level," he listed.

"Will our lives ever be normal or will it always be like this?" she asked this more to herself than to him.

"Let's face it, it's always going to be like this."

She could feel the tension relax a bit. She could see Christian had about as much on his mind as she did.

"Well, I've tried this fresh start thing with Dimitri," she started.

"Funny, I've done the same thing myself lately," he chuckled to himself.

"You've tried to have a fresh start with Dimitri too?"

Christian acknowledged her joke with a slight smile. "No, with Lissa...and it's because of my fresh start with her that I don't want to let her down."

Rose waited for him to continue trying not to think about how her fresh start with Dimitri had been going well up until now.

"There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it? You're not coming out as gay are you?" Rose joked.

He shook his head smirking. "No."

"You're not going to tell me you've obviously been in love with me?"

Another laugh, bigger this time. "No."

"Then what is it?" She asked genuinely curious.

"Rose, I'm so sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything...or have you?"

He exhaled deeply.

"I knew Tasha would be-"

"There you guys are!"

Lissa appeared with Dimitri and an officer holding a notepad behind them both standing in the doorway of the lobby. Lissa rushed to stand in front of both of them. She wore a confused expression but quickly hugged them both. While she started to sit to one side along Christian, Dimitri moved to sit beside Rose.

"I'm so sorry, Rose. It wasn't what it seemed. I was just-"

"I know. Christian told me...and if I had enough common sense to stay there and listen I would've figured that out myself...and Tasha might be in custody." she glanced at Christian. "Sorry Chris."

He nodded, understanding.

"What were you two doing out here? The police officer wants a statement from Rose," Lissa told them.

"Christian came out here to find me and he was about to tell me something..." Rose voice trailed off. "What were you going to tell me?"

Rose could see Christian stiffen with the four pairs of eyes staring at him expectantly.

He seemed to only focus on Lissa. He pulled her up to stand, ignoring the officer who had moved closer to find out what was going on.

"I knew my aunt was going to be here tonight."

"What! How!" Rose stood letting go of Dimitri's hand she'd been holding.

Lissa's expression shifted into one of first confusion, shock, and then realization.

"You've been in contact with her."

It sounded more like a statement than a guess but Christian nodded.

"Through Jill."

Another statement. Christian nodded again.

"I knew there was something weird going on," Lissa muttered to herself. The officer continued scribbling on his notepad listening to every word.

"Why would you be in contact with her?" Rose asked truly hurt. "Unless you wanted her to hurt me..."

"What! No! We haven't gotten along, it's obvious but I would never do that...especially knowing it would hurt Lissa," he exclaimed.

"But you've helped her knowing what she tried to do-" Lissa continued.

"No, I haven't been helping her. I've just kept in contact with her because I had to know that she was alright. I was trying to talk her into turning herself in, convincing her that things would be better for everyone if she did. That day I came home feeling better-"

"I thought it was because of Jill," Lissa said, hurt full in her voice.

"Never. I was feeling better because I thought I'd finally gotten through to her. She said she'd do the right thing...I thought she was talking about turning herself in but she was talking about-"

"Her version of the right thing," Dimitri finished. "Finding me and Rose."

Christian nodded turning to look down at Liss. "I am so sorry, I didn't think she'd do anything like this."

"How could you?" Lissa whispered.

Christian shoulder's fell a bit. "I thought she was all I had left, my only family until I realized that day that you're my family."

Rose's hardened feelings softened only slightly.

_Family seems to be a big issue lately._

"If this is all true we could charge you with aiding and abetting a criminal," the officer said without looking up from his notepad.

Christian ignored him trying to hold onto Lissa who had taken a step back. "She's my aunt, the only family I thought I had and-"

"And she tried to kill Rose," Lissa said softly.

Rose wasn't sure how she'd felt. She'd never liked Christian, a fact. But she couldn't seem to feel angry enough about his actions in staying in contact with his only family. Rose probably would've done the same thing if it had been Lissa.

"Do you know of here whereabouts now?" The officer asked.

Dimitri held a hand up to him gesturing for him to stop. "Could you give us a moment? It's been a long night and we coul all just use a good night's sleep."

"I understand that but..."

Their voices faded into the background as Rose focused on Lissa and Christian. It seemed that Tasha was having an unintentional effect on everyone even when she wasn't around.

Lissa's green eyes watered.

"Lissa he was just being loyal to his only family. We, of all people, should understand that."

They both looked at Rose surprised that it was her defending Christian when she'd been so quick to dismiss Dimitri earlier.

Lissa looked torn. "How can you say that? If the roles had been reversed and if it had been Dimitri who had been in contact with-"

"If it had been Dimitri I probably would've killed him. You feel hurt because he's the love of your life. He didn't betray you though. He thought he was helping family. I get how you feel because if it had been Dimitri I would've felt like he chose her over me but then my really smart cousin would've made me see that he was confused and just didn't know what to do and that I should forgive him and blah blah blah," Rose rambled.

"And you wouldn't have listened to me. You would've ignore me and probably punched him in the face or slash his tires or something," Lissa pointed out.

"True but you're not me. You have a bigger heart than I do, ready and willing to love any and everything at any moment and you already love Christian. I'm not saying you have to forgive him right away, because I'm pretty ticked off myself now after our heartfelt, friendly moment he reveals this crap, but give him a chance. Like I should've done with Dimitri."

Rose scared herself with her own profound words but they seemed to sink in with Lissa and a hopeful Christian.

Lissa nodded, her water eyes drying as she dabbed them. She stepped close to Christian hugging him tightly.

"I'm glad you finally told me what was going on but I hope this doesn't mean you're going to jail," she said into his shirt as his arms wrapped around her.

They all turned to the officer who sighed with great effort. "You said you never helped her in her pursuits? You didn't play any part in the events that transpired here tonight and all the events preceeding?" the officer confirmed.

"Absolutely not...and I won't." Christian seemed to hug Lissa a little tighter.

The officer nodded, tipping his hat. "We'll be keeping an eye on you in hopes that she tries to contact you again."

"And what about if she comes to find us again. Will protection be provided?" Dimitri asked holding his arm around Rose's waist.

She leaned into his hold, letting his warmth envelop her.

"We'll try to do all we can but nothing can officially be done until an official statement can be made."

"It was made a long time ago the first time she attacked," Rose snapped irritated.

The officer flipped through his notes and then nodded. "Right, we have it right here but if an official statement is taken in regards to a restraining order then something can be done." He tipped his hat once more and then left the four of them standing there.

"That's America's justice system at work," Rose acknowledged.

They laughed slightly. Each couple sort of focused within themselves.

"That was good...what you said," Dimitri told Rose.

"It's the truth. The police in this town suck."

He shook his head smiling and gestured to Lissa and Christian. "Not that. What you said to them. It was sweet."

"I meant it. I'm angry that he knew where she was and didn't say anything but...I wouldn't want Lissa to be hurt. No one else should have to hurt because of her. Especially me."

Dimitri turned Rose toward him. Her hands rested on his chest and she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"I told you no one would hurt you and I meant my promise."

"I know."

He leaned down to kiss her but she moved a bit back. "You can kiss me after you wash the taste of her off of your mouth," she smiled.

He returned the smile. "Agreed."

They each departed deciding it would be best if everyone just went home and had a good night's sleep. From the look of things, Rose hope Lissa and Christian would work it out.

"Are you coming back to my place?" Dimitri asked sounding hopeful but not pushy.

Rose nodded. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

He squeezed his arm around her shoulder pulling her into him. "You know, we never had that dance," he remembered as they passed the empty outdoor reception area.

"I blame Ivan," Rose muttered. "What happened to him and Mia anyway?"

"One of the officers that searched the hotel for Tasha found them passed out and naked poolside in one of the sheds."

Rose smiled at the thought, glad that their night wasn't ruined. "I can imagine."

"So how about that dance?"

Rose looked up realizing they were standing in the middle of the reception area among the cleared off tables, the bars that one of the waiters was clearing off, and the dimmed white christmas lights.

Rose spotted the DJ in the corner of the room packing up his belongings. He looked up as they entered and nodded when Dimitri gestured to him. Soft music started playing, one of Rose's favorite songs.

"Is that-"

"Your favorite song? Yes," Dimitri smiled smugly pulling Rose tighter against him on the dance floor.

"How did you-"

"I've heard you sing in the shower."

She felt her skin flush in embarrassment and her pulse relaxed for the first time in the last hour.

"I don't know if it's escaped you but I don't have any shoes on," she pointed out, feeling the cold of the floor beneath her.

Like the Prince Charming Rose pegged him to be, Dimitri casually pulled her small flats from his back pocket, kneeled and slept them onto her feet like Cinderella.

"You're like a Disney character, almost perfect in every way."

"Almost?" Dimitri laughed standing.

"You have faults, Belikov, but nothing we can't work through."

They swayed and turned along with the music.

"You have moves," she noted.

"Only for you."

"Corny," she giggled turning back into him.

"I know but I'd do anything right about now to hear you giggle like that. Why were you bare foot, anyway?" He asked looking down to see Rose's light feet twirling beneath her dress.

"I took my shoes off when I went to find you. I missed you."

This seemed to warm Dimitri's heart, all he needed to hear, because for the rest of the dance he couldn't stop smiling.

He seemed so warm and fool of life it took Rose off guard the one moment his smile fell. He'd stopped moving and Rose had spun, standing in front of him.

"What is it?"

"I have to have a surgery," he said simply.

Rose's heart fell and her stomach dropped. "What?"

She thought everything was fine and okay for the moment. This was scaring her.

"It's to remove the bullet in close proximity to my spine."

The music played in the background but she was barely listening. "How serious is it?"

"Fifty fifty."

"When?"

"Soon." His responses were guarded as if he was trying to gouge her reaction.

"How long have you known?"

He exhaled through his nose. "A while. I was going to tell you, when the time was right but everything else kept getting in the way."

"You had countless times to tell me. All of the time we've spent together the last month." She could feel fearful warm tears building behind her eyes.

"It's okay if you cry," he told holding him against her seeing her resolve not to.

"No it's not because if I do, it means I'm weak and I don't want to be that way anymore. If i cry it means this is really happening and that I could lose you after I just got you back again to myself."

"You won't lose me. It's taken me a while to realize that its me and you in this relationship and that we need each other to get through this. I need you, Roza," he whispered into her hair.

"You have me. You've always had me."

They spent another few moments dancing. When the song ended they thanked the DJ and headed for Dimitri's car. They walked in a comfortable silence, the only audible noise came when they stopped in their tracks at the sight of Dimitri's car and Rose gasped for the second time that night, all of the breath leaving her body.

The tires were slashed, the windows smashed, and on the intact but shattered front window, where a note was slipped into the windshield wipers, the word 'BETRAYED' was spray painted in dripping red and 'REVENGE' and 'DEATH' sprayed in various patterns along the side of the car.

Dimitri tentatively reach for the note. "I'm guessing the 'thorough' police search didn't include the parking lot," Rose muttered as she read the note over his arm as he read it aloud.

"'When I love, I love without limitations. I find it funny that the person I love the one who hurt me the most. Expect me to extend the same gesture towards you and your pet.

Always with love,

Natasha.'"

Dimitri crunched the note in his hand, kicking the car's deflated tire before calming down and facing Rose who stood silent and still, almost numb.

"I meant what I said before," Rose said after a moment's silence. "I don't want to be weak and afraid anymore. I want to start fighting back. You said we needed each other to get through the hard stuff so do I have you with me?"

Without a moments hesitation, "Of course. We'll do this on our own, together."

Rose stepped toward him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, taking in his sweet scent and the cool air. She want all of this to end and wondered what lengths they'd go to to end it.

* * *

_**A/N: I had a favorite song type in here 'it's time' by Imagine Dragons (because that's my favorite song right now) but it didn't seem right for Rose and Dimitri or I just couldn't see them dancing to it so I suggest the use of imagination when thinking of their song. XD Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. Glad you all liked it. **_


	52. Chapter 52: Rose

_**Rose: June**_

"You know, when I said we should fight and you said we should get into shape and train, this wasn't what I had in mind," Rose huffed.

"What did you have in mind?" Dimitri asked glancing at her.

He didn't look like a he was even breaking a sweat. Rose felt like slapping him. Her breathing was so loud and rapid she thought the ground was shaking, her hair was out-of-place sticking out of every which way where it wasn't stuck to her sweaty skin, and her feet felt so sore that they were numb.

Dimitri looked the picture of perfection jogging beside her. It didn't even look like he was trying.

"I don't know, something in doors, maybe watching a few really bad kung fu, action movies although my life feels more like a horror movie lately so maybe those would be more appropriate."

Dimitri chuckled. Rose would've laughed at her own dry joke if she'd had the breath for it.

"I thought that your life was more of a romantic comedy gone bad," he suggested.

"I think it started out as a comedy sex drama with our 'friends with benefits' arrangement, and then it went dark romantic 'Twilight' when I started having feeling for you but we couldn't be together-"

"They weren't star-crossed lovers," Dimitri interrupted correcting her.

Rose stopped jogging long enough to stare at him. "You watched Twilight?"

He shrugged. "Ivan made me go with him."

"Lemme guess, he was in search of women?"

"Of course."

Their laughter carried around them in the empty park. "But anyway, this really wasn't my idea of exercise," Rose huffed going back to her original comment. "It we'd do something fun."

"I use to think exercise was fun. I use to run in the mornings and at night if I had time. When I first became I doctor I use to squeeze in a bit of running between lunch time if I could."

He chuckled at the look of disgust on Rose's face. "running clears my head. I just haven't been able to do a lot of it lately."

He glanced at Rose's disgusted face and chuckled. "Running clears my head," he concluded. "What's your idea of exercise?"

"I was thinking something along the lines of sex. It burns carbs and it's fun."

Dimitri immediately stopped in his tracks and pulled Rose against him against the wall that run along the pathway they were following. The rise and fall of her chest was against his rapidly beating heart.

"You mean I had the option of running or sex as exercise?" he asked with fake appall.

She smiled up at him still trying to breathe. "Of course you did."

He bent and lifted her up into his arms bridal style. "That's enough running for today we could try your alternative exercise."

She screamed, laughing and kicking her legs. He set her down after kissing her on the forehead smiling. "It's too late now," she told him stretching her legs.

"Oh, Roza, it's never too late."

She looked at him, loving their playful banter. "What I meant was I had energy before this jog of yours sucked the life out of me. If you want to fool around now we could go behind the bushes and you can have your way with me," she tempted him. "But you'll be doing all the work just so you know. Warning you now."

"What else is new," he laughed and laughed even harder when she scoffed with her mouth open in an 'O' shape.

She reached her arm out to slap him playfully but Dimitri was quick and he had longer arms. He grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled him to her.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you're ever going to fight anybody," he whispered, sneaking a kiss in.

Rose was ready with a quick sarcastic quip but froze, a thought popping into her head at Dimitri's words. "Do you think it'll come to that? Me actually fighting someone?"

Even she could hear the low whisper of her voice.

Dimitri's amused expression for before faded. "Let's hope not."

When he saw that she was truly worried and the fearful expression on her face didn't disappear her run his hand along the side of her arm. "Hey, I said I'd protect you. I meant it. I won't anything happen, not like before."

"You don't feel guilty about that do you?"

"About what?"

"About not being able to stop Adrian and Stan when they took me because that wasn't your fault."

Dimitri just let out a long breath. Rose could see that he did feel guilty but they weren't going to talk about it now. She felt her shoulders relax at his earlier reassurances. Dimitri's expression relaxed a bit too and he turned Rose in the direction of his apartment.

"Let's get you home, it's cold outside."

He pulled off his thin running jacket and rested it around Rose shoulders, pulling her arms through and zipping it up. She smiled at being doted on and cared for. Dimitri returned the small smile.

She was glad that they'd moved quickly past the tense moment before and were feeling lighthearted and carefree again.

"So, how come you don't run anymore? Or do you run and I just never noticed?" Rose asked once they'd started walking back through the park again.

"I became busy and when I did have time Tasha had some futile party for me to go to."

"I've always had time, I just didn't want to," Rose joked.

"You've never run recreationally?"

"I use to when I was a kid but during those teenage years I discovered something."

"What?"

"Junk food."

Dimitri laughed holding her hand as they walked across the street toward his apartment.

Once inside Rose collapsed ont he couch as Dimitri hung their jackets by the door. He headed into the kitchen grabbing two glasses of water.

"So is that sex option still good or is this as good as it's going to get for me today?" Dimitri asked sipping his water, gesturing to Rose's still form, face down on the couch.

He sat on the edge of the coffee table and held Rose's glass out to her. She groaned and lifted her head out of the couch seats taking the water. She gulped it down grateful and greedily.

Dimitri watched her intently with that small smile he always wore as if Rose always amused him, on his soft lips. He reached out and wiped Rose's mouth where water dripped down from the side of her mouth and tugged her hair loose from its high bun.

Her dark hair fell around her in messy disarray. She groaned at the feel of her aching muscles. She rested her head on her arms against the couch sofa.

"I think this is as good as it's going to get today," she told Dimitri, her voice muffled by the couch.

He chuckled placing both fo their glasses on the coffee table beside him and moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the couch beside her. Gently he rubbed her shoulders down the center of her back to her waist and back up again.

"That feels good," she murmured.

"Well if this is as good as it's going to get then I guess my work is cut out for me. I thought I'd start slow," he told her using both hands now.

"What else is new," Rose joked, her voice still muffled.

Dimitri retaliated but increasing the pressure on her back and brushing his fingers along her waist. She squirmed. He knew she was ticklish there.

"Okay, I take it back," she said laughing, turning around.

Dimitri had positioned himself so that he was straddling her on the couch and she was looking up at him. She reached up to touch him but he pinned her arms above her smiling playfully dark.

"Oh no. You said I could do anything I wanted to you," he told her reminding her.

"Ah, I like where this is going. this beats running any day," she giggled.

Her hands still pinned, Dimitri nipped at Rose's warm neck and jaw before dining her lips.

"You've been planning this haven't you?" Rose managed to get out when Dimitri pulled away as his kisses lowered.

"Why do you say that?" he asked, his own voice muffled against her skin.

"You seem...meticulous right now, like you've thought about this a lot."

"That's because I have. Now hush," he ordered smothering her next words with his mouth.

She could feel him dominating not only the inside of her mouth with his tongue but her body where he manage to roam the soft curves and planes with one hand while the other still pinned her wrist above her head.

Where Rose had felt achy and sore before, she felt tender but warm now, the familiar feeling of anticipated arousal flowing through her body.

"So what exactly do you plan on doing with me?" she couldn't help but ask despite him silencing her before.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

His warm hands searched beneath her tank top running smoothly and slowly along Rose's flat stomach barley brushing the skin. Rose gasped at the electric heat coursing through her body.

"Do you want me now or are you still too tired?"

She nearly pleaded when his mouth only slightly pulled away to asked the question. "I want you."

He laughed softly.

His voice was low, husky, and close to her ear. He clutched her once, squeezing her behind once firmly before rising, unattatching his mouth from her skin and releasing her hands.

His own hands rested on the exposed part of her stomach where her tank top had risen up.

"Why'd you stop?"

"That's it. I'm done. I've done what I wanted to," he said smugly starting to dismount her.

"What!"

He laughed loudly, a booming laugh at Rose's disappointed expression.

"I wanted to remind you that I could always get a rise out of you. I can have my way with you anytime, anywhere, and anyway I want to, Roza."

He was across the apartment now replacing the glasses in the kitchen. rose laid back on the couch trying to catch her breath. If she was having trouble breathing while she was jogging she was definitely having problems breathing after what Dimitri pulled.

"You are a cruel man, Belikov."

"Payback for those comments before and for tempting me."

"When have I ever tempted you?" Rose asked innocently.

Dimitri rolled his eyes and scoffed playfully. "I think it'll be easier if I list the times you haven't tempted me."

Rose sat up on the couch and stood. "Fine, you wanna play games."

"Meaning?" Dimitri asked raising a brow, something Rose had always found attractive. Dimitri looked amused.

He gulped his water.

"Meaning that if you wanna play games we're gonna play one of my games. If you can find me and catch me I'll let you have your way with me for however long you want without leaving in the morning like I usually do. I'll do whatever you want me to for the next twenty-four hours," she proposed.

"And what happens if I can't find you?" Dimitri asked truly curious now.

"Dimitri we're in a condo. It's big but it's not that big," she gestured to the apartment. "But if you fail to find me in under an hour, and remember I am small and can fit anywhere, then I'm going to leave, go home and soak my sore and aroused body, and have a bit of fun by myself and when I decide to return you have to do what I tell you for the next twenty-four hours."

"Sounds like fun, an interesting proposition," he said setting his cup down.

"Yeah, it does but there's one thing you're forgetting," she said coy.

"What's that?"

"You have to catch me first!" she squealed skipping out the room hearing Dimitri's low chuckle as she went.

* * *

"Do you think we'll still be like this fifty years from now?"

Dimitri pulled the sheet tighter around Rose, his fingers spreading and closing in patterns along her bare back as she lay on her stomach her head turned to face him.

He was on his back with the one hand touching the Rose and the other fit comfortable behind his head where his brown eyes were closed.

"I think we'll be doing less running around and more lying around," he chuckled softly, his voice low and deep, accent thick.

Rose noticed before that she could only hear his accent more pronounced when he was completely at ease. "I think sex will become shorter with less movement involved. I could lay on top of you and say I'm done," he joked.

Rose felt her laugh vibrate against the bed. "But you're a doctor. You should have your own secret ways to keep the magic alive and going. Aren't those what those little blue pills are for?" she asked returning the joke.

"I guess we'll see won't we."

She smiled closing her own eyes briefly.

They'd played a long, good game of hide and seek and sex and now they were both tired, Rose especially from the jog that wore her down before. Unfortunately for her Dimitri had found her in each of her hiding spots within minutes and granting her multiple tries to successfully hide from him. He came close to losing the last time but he took full advantage when he spotted Rose, reluctantly on her way out and grabbed a hold of her then.

He'd threatened to sweep her off her feet for the second time that day and haul her to the bedroom but not before carefully, ever so gently, pressing her against the wall of the door where they both fell to the floor in a cloud of passion. Rose was stripped down to her underwear and bra while Dimitri still wore his jogging pants when he decided he could have more fun with her on the couch and all other possible surfaces of the house.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Dimitri asked without opening his eyes interrupting Rose's memories.

She actually blushed for the first time in a long time repositioning her head so that her chin rested on her folded arms.

"I don't think I'll ever want to eat on your dining room table again," she said trying to fight the urge to giggle. "Or your kitchen counter for that matter."

Dimitri smiled. "I don't think I'll be able to sit at my desk or on the couch without grinning like an idiot," he said remembering, reminisce in his voice.

The laughed softly, quietly.

Rose listened to the silence of the condo and the faint sound coming from the streets below. Dimitri's building wasn't on a major street but there was still a lot of activity even in the middle of the night.

Rose wondered if anyone listened to her on those nights when she'd come over to Dimitri late at night when she couldn't sleep in her empty house alone, which seemed like every night. She wondered if anyone heard her when she was here by herself waiting for him to come home from work at the new clinic or if anyone in the building across noticed her through the wide, uncurtained windows just sitting on the couch crying for everything that had happened by herself, holding her mother's scarf in her hands.

She doubted it.

She was just another person among the many citizens in the city trying to make it in life with the man of their dreams.

She especially wondered if anyone heard them while they were together in bed making love long into the night. They weren't exceptionally loud but they weren't exactly quiet either.

She guessed that it was these thoughts and wonders and feelings of satisfaction and unbelievable happiness that brought up her questions before and the one that was following behind it.

"Do you think we'll even be together in fifty years? I mean we're having trouble just being together now," she tried to laugh but found that the thought was more scary than funny of a future without the man beside her.

Dimitri, probably hearing the fear in her suddenly shaky voice turned over on his side, pulling his arm from underneath his head over onto Rose. He gave her a soft touch to turn on her side so that he could see her face clearly.

"Honestly?"

"No I want you to lie to me."

He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and kept his finger linger on her lips, ignoring her dry joke from before.

"I don't know if we'll be together. Nothings set in stone." She felt her stomach sink to the ground, a dark abyss below the condo. "But I can promise you that I'll do everything in my power to make sure that we are together and I hope you'll do the same. I just got you back, Roza. I'm not letting you go easily, without a fight. even if it's against you," he smiled.

Rose's stomach reappeared again and her heart continued to beat along with the breath returning to her lungs.

"Me and you, Belikov," she murmured her eyes growing tired.

Dimitri had given her body an extensive workout and she blushed remembering. "You know, you're pretty intense, Belikov. I mean, this is only our hundredth official date and you're worrying about fifty years from now," she joked.

He laughed softly caressing her cheek and locking a few of his fingers in her hair. "So I've been told, Roza."

"Don't ever stop calling me Roza," she reminded him referring to conversation they'd had before.

"Never. Sleep."

"I think I'm too wired to sleep. My body is tired but emotionally...I'm restless. These intense conversations we have really excite me," she told him. "Do you have a cure, doctor?"

"I may have a home remedy but we're going to wait until morning to apply it. Sleep," he ordered.

"You're so bossy when I let you have your way," she giggled shifting so that her back was against his chest.

He held her in a firm hold, his hands resting over both of hers as she laid on one of his arms. She imagined it wasn't the most comfortable positions for him but he didn't complain and she didn't want to move.

"I still have eighteen more hours of my way with you," he told her. "I won, remember?"

"I let you win."

"Right," he scoffed unbelieving.

"I didn't really want to go home, left to my own devices, and who would win of neither of us had sex so I let you win," she lied smugly.

"If that's true I'm going to have to deal with you later."

She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Sleep," he told her again. She could hear the tiredness in his voice and feel it growing more inside her. She really was tired.

"My unbelievable, Roza," she heard him whisper as he dozed off, the smile still in his voice.


	53. Chapter 53: Dimitri

**_Dimitri_**

"I miss you."

Rose gave Dimitri a squeeze so tight, he almost regretted helping her work and train so much lately.

"You haven't even left yet. We just got here," he chuckled squeezing her back, holding her face between his hands.

"I know but still...I didn't think it'd feel this bad."

"I'm the one having the surgery. Shouldn't I be the one worried about feeling bad?"

"Well, it's not easy sitting on the sidelines either," she shrieked flustered.

"Rose, the surgery will take only about five hours and my recovery time is only a couple of days considering the surgery goes well-"

"And what if it doesn't?" she whispered, playing with the zipper on the overnight bag he'd packed the night before.

Dimitri wanted to be able to tell Rose not to worry about his impending surgery but it was kind of hard to give out reassurances in a sterile, white room. Dimitri would've found the room just as starkingly intimidating and creepy if he hadn't mmade a career of spending most of his adult life in them.

He grabbed a hold of Rose's hand and pulled her back against him.

"Then I'll leave you all of my wordly posessions and the condo," he joked trying to make light of the situation, a tactic Rose usually fell back upon when nervous.

"Dimitri," she tried to scold in a serious tone but Dimitri could tell that he'd been able to make her smile. He squeezed her tighter against him, wishing that he could run his hands over the warm skin of herstomach or gently brush the tense, tender, sensitive skin of her breast to hear the unforgettable, soft sound that escaped her lips from pleasure.

He wished tgey weren't in a busy hospital room where nurses were forever entering and exiting Dimitri's assigned room. He wished she wasn't wearing this dress.

Instead he dared to allow his hands to clasp tight around her chest where he could feel the soft pattern of her heart. His lips skimmed along the warm skin of her neck before tiltibg her face up to meet his in a long lingering kiss.

She tasted as sweet and filling as she had during those long days and nights they'd spent tucked away in Dimitri's condo, their alternate form of hide-and-seek linger many hours after Dimitri's remaining hours were over. He smiled against her lips at the memories, breaking the kiss.

Rose made an irtitated sound at the kiss being broken and stared up at Dimitri dreamily.

"What were we talking about?" she sighed, grinning dazily.

"We were talking about you having nothing to worry about. This doctor is supposedly one of the best and does a hundredd of these surgeries a month."

He tucked her long curls behind her ears. "Not to mention Ivan was granted approval to observe the surgery as long as he doesn't interfere so you have nothing to worry about. You knoe Ivan wouldn't let anything happen to me. I'm his wing man, married or not, and I'm no good to him dead."

Rose shuddered at the last word but tried to give a relaxed smile. She let out a long breath.

"It's going to be weird not sleeping next to you for the first time in months. Stupid hospital rules," she muttered.

Dimitri almost laughed at the pouty scowl Rose wore. She'd nearly raised hell when she found out that Dimitri wasn't allowed hospital visitors until deemed fit enough to rest annd only then did that include family.

"Time will pass before you know it. You'll be covering at the clinic for Ivan and I and that should help these next few days go by quicker than you think."

She sighed. "I doubt it."

Before Dimitri could respond the nurses and doctors came in to the room to prep Dimitri for surgery.

"I guess this is it," Rose sighed once the nurses told her she'd have to go soon.

"Rose, I'm not going to war."

She gave a shakey laugh and not-so-reassured smile. "I know. It's just...last time we

were in here...it didn't go so well."

Dimitri was about to ask what she was talking about , thinking she was referring to after he'd been shot and was in the hospital but thenhe paused...he knew exactly what she was referring to.

The false pregnancy.

Dimitri still shuddered at the memory of how intense things had been back then and how he had reacted to the news of het possible pregnancy. They hadn't really talked about it much but Dimitri knew they'd have to discuss the subject sometime.

Just not now.

"I know," was all he said before one of the nurses cameback in to tell Rose that visiting hours were over.

They hugged and held on to each other with one long kiss before she said goodbye. Dimitri watched her walk out of the room toward the elevators until he couldn't see the coton blue dress she was weasring any more.

Dimitri missed her already.

* * *

"You're wife?" one of the many nurses inquired after Dimitri had changed into his hospital gown and settled into the hospital bed.

The nurse was checking and recording his vitals.

"Girlfriend," Dimitri anwsered quickly.

Anytime he thought or heard the word 'wife' he immediately thought of how close he'd come to providing Tasha with the title of his could feel his blood boil beneath his skin and struggled to relax at the memories. The word 'wife' or any terms referring to marriage didn't comfort Dimitri at all.

"You two seemed so close before she left, I thought I'd have to use the jaws of life to separate you two," she smiled kindly. "I assumed you were married. I've only seen such love like that in the old married couples that come through here."

Dimitri almost gave the answer or reply that he would've given if he was still jumping from girl to girl without any idea of settling down; that their relationship wasn't like that, but he stopped himself.

Things had changed.

This wasn't anything like the relationships Dimitri had been in before. In fact, this was nothing Dimitri had ever felt of experienced before.

When he was with Rose, he didn't want to let her go and when he wasnt with her he wished he was. The majority of his thoughts either revolved around Rose or concerned her in some way. Dimitri felt light and carefree lately, able to breathe and calm down when he had his long-haired, brunette in his arms or in the vecinity.

He smiled at just the thought of her laugh, the feel of her smooth, tanned limbs tangled with his own, the sweetness

of her long, lingering kisses...

"Mr. Belikov, your heart rate is through the roof," the nurse noted holding his wrist for a pulse. The older woman smiled kindly, knowingly. " Thinking about the girlfriend?"

Dimitri could actually feel a blush rising in his cheeks before admitting, "yes actually."

"That'll do it everytime," the nurse noted releasing his wrist. "Any pictures?"

The loving, corny boyfriend that he was becomnig, he should've had a roll of them in his wallet or on his phone but he didn't.

"Only one," he finally anwsered sadly, disappointed in himself. He lifted his phone for the nurse to see with the one picture he had of Rose as his wall paper. It was a photo he'd taken when they went to revisit the beach.

_"This is strange," Rose sighed leaning against the railing._

_"What is?" _

_"The last time we were here, we weren't together...I didn't think we'd ever get together," she breathed staring out at the overcast skies and the wild sea._

_"It's a little like Deja Vu...except we're together now...but if I remember correctly, you were mad at me the last time we were here too because of how-"_

_"Mean?" she suggested. _

_"Yes, because of how mean I was being to you."_

_Rose turned away from him, resting her head on the palm of her hand. "Well, I'm still mad at you now."_

_Dimitri laughed, loud against the wind. "But for a completely different and insane reason," he said between chuckles. He leaned beside her on the rail, tucking her hair back so that it wasn't flapping wildly in the wind against her face. "You're mad at me because of the surgery? Seriously?"_

_"I just still can't believe you didn't tell me and I can't believe your even having this very risky and dangerous surgery done. You heard all of the possible consequences and risks from the doctor and you still want to do it!" she shouted over the wind._

_Dimitri regretted taking her to his doctor's appointment this morning. She'd pestered the doctor with the most insane of questions and shouted at him, asking why he would even risk her boyfriend's life with such a surgery._

_"Rose, the surgery will be fine. I'm a doctor, I know the risks," he tried to calm her._

_Rose snorted suddenly, smiling. "I find it funny that a doctor has to go see a doctor. You'd think you'd be able to just treat yourself."_

_"Lemme get this straight. You'd rather have me operate on myself and risk pulling out something important rathern than have an experience professional help me?" He ask disbelieving._

_"At least you know your own body. What if your doctor is secretly incompetent and drops his glasses inside your body and then sews you up without realizing. I saw that on Dr. Oz once."_

_"Rose, I'll be fine. Do you know how painful it would be for me to operate on myself? I think I'll leave it to the professionals."_

_"Well maybe you can just help them along," she suggested hopefully._

_"Yes I'll just refuse the anestesia and tell them where everything goes and what doesn't belong," he said sarcastically. "You want me to sit up during surgery and give them pointers? Not a good idea. 'Yeah just tuck in that vein right there,'" Dimitri pretended. _

_Rose made an unamused face at his sarcasm. Dimitri could see she was just worried. _

_"Haven't I given you a good impression of doctors?"_

_"I guess," she muttered._

_"You guess?" She shrugged a shoulder and exhaled deeply, resting her face against his coat. He ran smooth circles on her back. "You know,__ I can give you an example of everything that'll happen."_

_"Really? How?" She asked, her interest peaked._

_"You'll have to take off your clothes for starters," he smiled. His attempt to make her smile and ease her worries worked. She grinned giggling. _

_"We can do that when we get home."_

_"Sound like fun," Dimitri agreed pressing kisses on her face. "Letting your boyfriend have his way with you again."_

_She pulled back slightly. _

_"What? Did I say something?" he ask worriedly._

_"You used the label 'boyfriend'," she said as a smile spread slowly across her face. _

_"We've done that a lot lately. You're only noticing now?"_

_"It's nice to hear."_

_She leaned up, pressing her soft lips against Dimitri's. _

_"If that's what happens when I use the labels then I'll say them ore often." She smiled, kissing him again. "The perks of being a boyfriend." They kissed for a while longer._

_"What more do I have to do to get more kisses like this?" Dimitri asked, his voice muffled by Rose's neck. She pulled back, hope in her eyes._

_"Refuse the surgery and I'll give you more than a kiss," she proposed._

_Dimitri groaned still kissing her neck._

_"If I have the surgery, we'll be more likely to have moments like this."_

_"But the doctor said you could avoid the surgery and live normal enough."_

_"And also risk being paralyzed with one wrong move?"_

_"But you could end up being paralyzed even more with this surgery. What if you were just extra careful for the rest of your life, no more wild sex, then we could avoid this life threatening surgery and everything will be fine," she proposed. _

_She had her arms wrapped around him now, her back pressed against the rail. Dimitri took in her warm, fresh scent, the light whiff of her vanilla perfume and her shampoo, holding her close. He rested his forehead on her own._

_"Rose, I have to take this risk so that I can avoid living the rest of my life worried that I might be paralyzed or die. It'll be fine."_

_Rose wasn't convinces, her face falling even further into a concerned frown, her lip puckered out. Dimitr playfully leaned down and nipped at it making her smile slightly. "Besides, if the surgery is a success, and it most likely will be, then we can have all of the wild sex we want."_

_"I didn't hear the doctor say that the surgery is likely to be a success," she pointed out._

_"You might have if you weren't yelling at him," Dimitri muttered smothering the rest of her worries with a kiss._

_"You're trying to distract me," she said ocne they'd pulled away._

_"Well, yes, but I'm also trying to enjoy the time I have with my girlfriend before this perfectly safe surgery I'm supposed to have in a couple of weeks, so smile," he ordered pecking her on the lips._

_She gave him a forced smile, dropping her arms from around his neck._

_"A real, ginuine smile. The kind of smile you'd give in a picture," he suggested pulling out his phone. "I realized I don't have any pictures of you."_

_"That's because you told me not to send you any risque pictures of myself to your job since your staff has access to your phone," she smilde smugly._

_"Well those would've been nice but how about one picture of you smiling with clothes on," he said holding his phone up._

_"If you must," she sighed reluctantly but stood back against the rail smiling nicely. "Why don't you take this picture with me?"_

_"Because I want one of those pictures of my girlfriend that I can show off and brag about to anyone who asks."_

_"I think the pictures I wanted to send you would've been better for that."_

_"I'd like people to know that I've changed and have a girlfriend. They don't need to know the dirty details about our sex life."_

_"Good point."_

_Dimitri watched her over his phone where she stood with her hair blowing in her face wildly, the flaps of her waist coat and the ends of her dress billowing in the wind. She stood with her hands on the rail and her boots crossed in front of her, relaxed._

_Dimitri snapped the picture, capturing her true beauty._

_"How'd it come out?" she asked leaning over to see for herself._

_Dimitri held her in front of him showing the photo and kissing the side of her neck._

_"You couldn't be any more beautiful."_

The nurse whistled. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she is," Dimitri sighed smiling, resting his head back against the hospital bed.

The nurse patted Dimitri's wrist in a nice gesture. "I'm just going to give you a bit of medicine to make you sleep," the nurse told him unnecessarily.

He was a doctor, he knew all of this stuff.

"Just count back from ninety nine and relax," she instructed stucking the needle in his arm. Dimitri felt the piercing, light pinch and started counting mentally.

When he rested back more comfortably and the nurse saw that he was relaxing she smile gently. "Thinking about your girlfriend helps to," she told him.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts," she grinned heading toward the room's door. Before exiting, she paused with her hand on the door knob. "You should tell her you know."

"Tell her, what?" Dimitri asked confused.

"That you love her."

* * *

**_A/N: Sorry, I thought I'd posted the chapter on sunday but apparently I didn't and I should've checked. Also, the drama in the sotry will continue but I thought we needed another light hearted Rose and Dimitri chapter to liven things up and to make up for all of those chapters that were without Rose and Dimitri moments. Thanks for all of the love and reviews and private messages rmeinding me to keep this sotry alive and a new chapter will be posted soon! Thanx!_**


	54. Chapter 54: Rose

_**Rose**_

"Does he know?"

Without looking up from her phone Rose asked, "Does _who_ know _what_?"

She heard the sound of a smile in Lissa's voice. "You know what I'm talking about?"

Rose thought for a moment, looking up from her phone briefly as realization hit her about what Lissa was talking about. "Oh, you mean does Christian now how irritated I am with him? Yeah, I told him I'd use his tooth-brush to scrub the toilet if he didn't stop unplugging my phone charger but he did it yet again this morning!" Rose shouted punching the touchscreen keys on her phone.

"He does it because your phone is always plugged into the one easy access wall outlet we have," Lissa reasoned, amused by their bantering.

"Is it my fault he couldn't afford a better apartment on his chef's salary and that I'm so social? And why are you smiling?"

Lissa laughed. "Because it's nice to have things back to semi-normal. And your phone wouldn't need so much charging if you weren't always on it."

"I'm still not allowed to visit and I need to know Dimitri's okay so I check in on him-"

"Twenty-four seven," Lissa interrupted, still amused. "Something a girlfriend in love would do. I wasn't talking about Christian before. I was asking if Dimitri knows you love him?" Lissa asked catching Rose off guard.

Rose's fingers stopped mid-text as she looked up at her cousin who was staring amusedly over her laptop. Rose was fighting the urge to giggle. "Exsqueeze me?"

"Oh come on Rosie. You're showing all the signs."

Searching for something light-hearted to say, Rose asked, "Where is this coming from? Is this because we were watching _He's Just Not That Into You _last night?"

"But Dimitri _is _into you and you're into him and you're trying to avoid the subject. The entire time you've stayed with us, because you couldn't handle sleeping alone without Dimitri, you've been texting and emailing and Skype-ing him. You bring him up in random conversation. The other night, when we were playing scrabble, you spelled out words that described Dimitri. You even tried to argue his name as a word! You're in love," Lissa declared continuing to type on her laptop.

"First of all, I'm staying here with you guys because _you_ were scared about me being alone-"

"I told you that because I knew you'd feel weird without Dimitri because that's how I use to feel without Christian."

Rose opened her mouth to argue back but only a bunch of disbelieving, sputtering sounds came out of her flustered mouth.

"You're...crazy! This is insane!" Rose shrieked standing from the table pacing.

"Why is this so unbelievable? I've seen you the last few weeks and I've never seen you smile and laugh so much," Lissa said still sitting.

Rose paused realizing she had smiled and laughing a lot more than she had in the past. Sh found it hard to think of any memories where she wasn't smiling. The small moments were her favorite.

_"This is nice."_

_Dimitri shook the lit match in his hand until it went out and took the seat beside Rose._

_He'd set up a nice elaborate late dinner with an elegantly set table, two lit candles, food delivered from a nearby restaurant and the nice warmth, comfort, and privacy of Dimitri's office. _

_"As nice as can be in my office. Are you sure you don't want to go out for dinner or I could make you something back at my place?"_

_Rose shook her head. "No, this is nice, spontaneous...and if we eat here I don't have to think about the crazy wild sex we had in your apartment. I told you that I can't eat at your dining room table for a while," she giggled, remembering._

_"Nice, vivid memories?" Dimitri confirmed pouring wine into two glasses._

_"Yeah and your office has yet to be tainted by our outgoing, sexual nature," Rose replied sipping the bittersweet wine._

_"We can change that," he muttered downing his own wine._

_Rose felt a warm hand on her bare knee. It moved slowly along the hem of her skirt before gently squeezing the softness of her skin along her thighs._

_"Dimitri Belikov, I'm starting to think you only want me for sex," she said playfully._

_"No, you're good for foreplay too," he joked kissing her on the cheek. "I'm glad we can joke about it."_

_"About what?" Rose asked as he placed food on either of their plates. _

_"The way it was before, the way I treated you," he told her, regret in his deep, smooth voice. _

_"You're not like that anymore," Rose assured him placing her hand over his. "You're different now. Besides, i'd rather laugh about it now than pretend it didn't happen at all."_

_"Me too."_

_Dimitri looked over at her and smile gently. His smiled were so few and rare that they were contagious for Rose. She smiled back, that warm familiar feeling coursing through her body._

_"So, about that offer of yours...is the office sex still and option?" she grinned._

"That doesn't mean I'm...I-I-i'm in love!" Rose stuttered.

"You can't even say it, it's understandable considering the circumstances of your childhood and all of those losers you use to go out with and then the whole Adrian thing but you are in love. I can tell."

Rose just shook her head, forgetting what it was she wanted to text to Dimitri. She slid her phone away.

"Why are you pushing this?"

"Because I like seeing the last real family I have be happy," Lissa said simply, shrugging.

"What makes you think I'm not happy?"

"I know you're happy but you'd be even happier if you could just admit to yourself and Dimitri that you love him...then we could double date and do all those corny things couples do," Lissa smile perking up.

Rose laughed standing up from the table. "Liss, you are deep, profound, and very loving...but you're also slightly crazy," she grinned moving to give her cousin a quick hug and pecking her on the cheek.

"Love is crazy," Lissa said in a sing-song voice as Rose walked into the kitchen for a snack.

"It's too soon," she sighed simply.

Had Rose ever felt love? Numerous times. She loved her first pair of BCBG jeans, the kitten she had for less than a few months before having to give her away, ice cream. Rose had loved a lot.

She loved Lissa, her mother, her aunt Rhea, uncle Eric, and cousin Andre. She even loved Christian on some strange level because of how he cared and treated for Liss. She appreciated that the most.

Rose knew what love felt like but _being _in love was something entirely different and new...and a territory Rose was afraid of and steered away from for as long as she could remember. None of her boyfriends, if she could call them that, had been close to making Rose feel the way she felt now about Dimitri.

Although she'd never been looking for it, Rose gave herself the reminder not to fall in love because it could end up like her parents. Through Rose's eyes, love in general did something to people who made them feel more hate than thought possible.

She even remembered the fights her aunt and uncle use to have but never told Lissa about. She knew that before their car accident they'd been considering a divorce. Love was something dark and tainting.

Adrian had claimed he'd 'loved' her and Tasha had claimed she'd 'loved' Dimitri but they'd been declared insane. Another reason to stray from the emotion that seemed to ruin lives instead of make things better.

No, Rose couldn't say she loved Dimitri. Not aloud.

"He feels the same way, I'm sure," Lissa called from her spot in the dining room.

"I can't Liss. It's just...not the right time. We agreed to take things slow. Throwing the L word out there isn't taking things slow. It'll just cause problems."

"But you do love him?"

"Yes," Rose answered without a moment's hesitation.

Realizing the declaration she'd just made she held her hand to her mouth before pointing to Liss.

"Don't say anything to Dimitri."

Lissa clapped her hands excitedly. "That's all I needed to know."

Rose rolled her eyes walking to the spare bedroom.

She left her phone on the table, her head too full of romantic thoughts to focus.

* * *

**_A/N: Thanks for the reviews and PMs. Dramatic (Dimitri filled) chapter soon to follow_**


	55. Chapter 55: Dimitri

_**Dimitri**_

"You know what I realized?"

Rose continued scrubbing the back of Dimitri's hand abscent mindedly. "Hmm?"

"We don't have any mementos of our relationship."

For the first time since she came to pick Dimitri up from the hospital she looked up and smiled. "What?"

Dimitri shifted in the bathtub, sitting up a little.

"I only have one photo of you and I doubt you have any photos of me. We have nothing to look back upon and hold and remember."

"What kinds of mementos are you talking about here?" Rose asked, clearly amused. She tried, unsuccessfully to hide her smile while running the loofah in a pattern along Dimitri's arm.

"More photos, a recipe from the very first restaurant we've ever eaten at together, a song."

"You can't hold a song," Rose pointed out once he'd finished listing. "Besides, I though we didn't need that kind of stuff. I mean, you were the guy that wasn't the relationship type who just got out of the most dysfunctional, one-sided relationship I've ever seen," she laughed unamused. "And I'm the girl with intimacy and trust issues. I figured we had enough emotional stuff in our relationship to make up for our lack of mementos. Where's all of this coming from anyway?"

She started scrubbing Dimitri's skin gently again without looking up. Dimitri opened his mouth to tell her of the big revelation he had while talking to the nurse, that he might possible feel the tender, heart squeezing, breath-taking emotion of love for her.

Considering that Rose was right, that they still had emotional and relationship issues to work through, he didn't think this was the right time.

"Lemme guess, you had some sort of emotional epiphany during your surgery. The doctor said your medication would still be strong in your system. Other arm," she asked pointing to Dimitri opposite arm resting on the other side of the tub.

She lifted herself up higher on to the edge of tub from kneeling beside it on the floor.

He wanted to say this wasn't just the medication talking. He wanted to tell her that despite whatever troubles they may have, they'd be okay because he lov-

"Are you okay? Do you feel okay?" She asked interrupting his thoughts. "I was worried the entire time you were in the hospital."

Dimitri could see, from the slight tremor in her hoarse voice, that admitting such a thing was hard for her. Something changed in her while he was gone. He just didn't know what it was.

"I feel fine. You're right about the medication though," he tried to say lightheartedly.

She gave a slight laugh, scrubbing his fingers.

After so many days spent in the hospital Dimitri was grateful to have a nice bath at home and even more grateful that Rose was giving him the bath. He watched her as she scrubbed and massaged gently.

He was aware of how beautiful she was before he'd been the hospital and he remembered each and every one of his features while he'd been there. It was different now though. She wasn't just stunning and breathtaking.

She had a soft, gentle beauty that Dimitri couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from. He looked from the long strands of her thick hair pulled back into a low ponytail to the plumpness of her full lips to the soft, smoothness of her skin.

His eyes trailed her skin from the very top of her face to the plains of her chest where he had to look quickly away from the full, soft lumps on her chest before he became to excited.

"Like what you see?"

Dimitri was startled that she'd spoken without looking at him, focusing particularly on his fingers.

"Sefinitely."

A soft pink colored her tan cheeks.

"I missed you too, you know," he whispered. "I actually miss you all the time," he went on. "When I'm at work after you leave before, I'm thinking about you when you're at your place and I'm here. You're on my mind constantly, it's hard to focus on anything else...and I don't want to."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Dimitri thought for a moment, checking to see how strong all of those feelings in his chest were. He double checked to make sure it wasn't just the medication. "No, it's a very good thing, a good feeling."

Rose smiled, teeth, lips spread apart and all.

"Me missing you is part of the reason I'm bringing up this whole mementos thing. I want something, beside the sole picture I have of you, that I can look at and think of you. I had nothing to look at and remind me of you while I was in the hospital. The nurse was a little surprised I only had one picture of you."

He started to mention how the nurse thought that they were married but stopped. He could avoid the awkward part of that conversation all together.

"What kind of mementos do you have in mind, exactly? We're not exactly a flowers and candy couple."

"For now, maybe we could start out small. You could leave more of your things here."

"My blow dryer is in your top drawer," she pointed.

"I meant more permanent things."

"What's more permanent than a blow dryer? That shows I'm willing to stay the night and wake up in the morning ready to blow dry."

"How about a picture or some more of your clothes?"

Dimitri couldn't explain why he was pushing this. Okay, he could explain it. Life was too short. That was one of many lessons he'd learned over the last few months. He wanted to live every moment of it to the fullest, without wasting time. He want to spend every moment he could with Rose. He simply wanted everything to feel more permanent than it had been.

"It would be more convenient if I left some of my clothes here," she smiled, reading into his eyes how much this meant to him. "I don't have very many pictures but if you want a huge picture of Liss beside your bed then so be it," she giggled softly before sobering.

The calm, quiet look masked her face again. She'd been wearing it for a while now it was starting to concern Dimitri.

"Are _you_ okay, Roza?"

He cupped her face in one of his hands, though wet, and ran his thumb along her jaw and lips.

She was about to say fine, Dimitri could tell, but stopped herself when she saw the worry in his eyes.

"It's just...nice to have you back. I didn't think I'd miss you this much. I was kind of scared something would happen if we were apart for so long. I have a _feeling _something is going to happen."

Dimitri set either of his arm on Rose's waist. Her voice had cracked with tears brimming. She hastily wiped at them. Dimitri pulled her hands away and covered them with his own kissing each finger.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Even if I'm in the hospital, under anesthesia and in surgery, I wouldn't let anything happen to you. We'll even continue our training because frankly I could use the exercise to get me back into shape after all that awful but fattening hospital food," he joked.

When he could see she didn't look convinced but doubtful, he gave her hands, so much smaller than his own, a squeeze and tilted her face so that she met his eyes even though she was sitting a bit above him.

"Roza, I'm here now. Nothing is going to happen. I'm here now," he repeated.

She relaxed ever so slightly and let out a shake sigh. She looked convinced though, for now. He pulled her arms so that he could reach her enough to kiss her.

She melted against him, the warmth of her clothes and skin brushing against his bare chest. This was the first long full and completely kiss they'd shared and boy had Dimitri missed them.

He missed _her_.

He tugged at her ponytail so that her hair fell around them in a long curtain. He slowly pulled back, leaning back against the tub pulling Rose along with him. He scooped her against him so that she was in the tub, clothes and all. She smiled gently against his lips before the kiss continued.

Her clothes were slowly thrown about the bathroom but Dimitri felt like he wasn't moving fast enough. He was distracted by the soft familiar feel of her silky skin and the battle that was going on between their tongues.

At long last Rose was as bare as Dimitri, her body crashed against his. The continued to melt and join together as one until Dimitri felt like he simply couldn't breathe any longer. With all the passion and heat building up between them, exploding, until Dimitri felt he couldn't possibly love Rose any more.

* * *

They sat wrapped in each other's embrace, all limbs tangled together.

Rose's back was pressed tightly against Dimitri's chest. His arm wrapped around her chest firmly so that he could feel sure that he would never have to let her go again and that she wouldn't move.

The echo of their earlier lovemaking, Rose's pleasured gasps and moans, still rung in Dimitri's ears. He was more than satisfied. He was ecstatic; practically bursting with emotion.

He ran his hands through her wet hair, moist from when they'd found themselves beneath the water.

"It can't always be like this you know," Rose said as he toyed with her fingers.

"I can dream."

Dimitri had never felt higher in spirits. He wondered if he'd always felt this way after being with Rose or if it was the length of time they spent apart that heightened his emotions and his needs.

"I wish it was always like this," she sighed, her voice a low whisper. "But we have to face the inevitable, don't we? Work, life in general, returning to civilization outside of this apartment?"

"Not for long."

She turned around, shifting so that she was facing him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we could go away for the weekend. After spending so much time apart I think we've earned it," he proposed, excited by the idea.

"Dimitri, you haven't spent a full day at work since..."

"A perk of getting shot _and_ being the boss is that I get to decided when I choose to work. A perk of being _bossy_ is that I'm making you come with me," he whispered in her ear before pressing a kiss to her soft temple.

"True," she agreed sounding as the idea was coming around to her.

"But haven't we been on a sort of vacation for a while now. How long can we go on like this? I still have bills to pay," she giggled, in her own high of happiness.

"Your bills shouldn't be that high considering you haven't been in home in a few days," he smiled. "You're always here," he teased.

"Well if you don't like I could just go home and spend less time here." She pretended to make the motions of standing up out of the tub but Dimitri's tight grip at her stomach stopped her.

"No, no, no! I take it back," he laughed kissing her ear.

"Good," she grinned relaxing against him.

"So how about my offer of a vacation. We'd only go a little ways out of the city to a cabin I own-"

"Of course you own a cabin, country man," he heard her mutter.

"Anyway," he went on. "It'd be just for the weekend and when we get back we'll be fresh and anew and ready to take on the world. You can start working for me again-"

"We talked about that. I'm not working for the same man I'm sleeping with. I'll just find a job elsewhere. This was just temporary until you and Ivan fell back into your usual boss like positions," she reminded him.

The thought of spending even less time with Rose working somewhere else was bone-chilling to Dimitri. "Everyone already knows we're seeing each other," he tried to reason.

"I know but still. It's the principal." she groaned. "I sound like Lissa, with morals and rule abiding and all."

She shifted again so that she was opposite Dimitri in the tub. He noticed there were less bubbles covering her more private areas and had to actively keep himself from not focusing.

"I love working for you, I do. But, I made a promise not only to Lissa but to myself, before _we _became an item. I promised I wouldn't just waste my life away, that I'd figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life and what's good for me soon and honestly I've been distracted the last few months so now I think is a good start. Now's my chance."

Dimitri admired how much it seemed Rose really wanted to work hard and break old habits. He could relate. He'd been working hard himself breaking his old ways.

"I think you're right. You can still work for me, part-time, to help with your money woes since you won't let me help you directly. But I support you in whatever it is you want to do. And you can start this life changing journey after we get back from our last vacation."

"Agreed," she nodded. She leaned forward to peck him on the lips but he held her longer for a lot more.

* * *

Rose was snoring softly beside him.

He guessed she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep while staying at Lissa's and it was partly his fault for keeping her awake while they texted and talked on the phone late into the night and early into the morning.

He was tempted to wake her, to disturbed her peaceful sleep so that they didn't waste a minute of the last but of time along they had together.

Rose had been pretty dead-set on getting serious about life and with that he had a feeling the oftenest of when they saw each other would change. He wanted to appreciate every second.

He thought about just giving her a gentle shake, rousing her from her sleep but she looked to calm and peaceful. She could use the rest and so could he.

He decided to let her sleep.

He leaned over stealing a long kiss from her lips and every inch of her face, shoulder, and hand before deciding to try to get some sleep of his own.

He could relax now.

There were no dangers with the bullet. It hadn't been completely removed because fragments were too close to the spine but enough had been removed so that Dimitri could live his life as wildly as he want to so long as he was careful.

It took a while for him to grow use to the sounds of the city again after so much time spent in such a quiet hospital. He nuzzled beneath the warm covers of his bed, one arm brushing against the warmth of Rose's back, an assurance that she was still there, and started to drift off.

He jolted awake what felt like moments later.

He found himself staring up at the ceiling, the feel of Rose's long hair spread out along his pillow close beside him. He glanced over at her to see if she'd woken too but she was sound asleep, curled into a ball beside him laying her head on her hands. He waited a moment longer to see if he heard the sound again.

There it was, a soft click and creaking.

He hesitated only briefly before deciding to stand and check it out. He couldn't believe that this was how his first night home was going to be spent, investigating mysterious noises.

He tucked the blanket around Rose's sleeping form. Dimitri worried that she might be cold in only her tank top and shorts.

_"Have you forgotten how cold it gets in here at night even with the heater on?" he asked as they dressed in the bathroom._

_Rose tugged on her tank top._

_"It's never _that _cold."_

_"You've never felt the cold here because you're always sleeping so close to me, or on top of me," he reminded her pulling on his own dark shirt and sweats._

_"Exactly so the cold shouldn't be a problem."_

She stirred only slightly.

Dimitri walked out to the living room unsure of what to look for. He was on one of the highest floors of the building. Would there really be a burglar?

After the last few months they had, though, Dimitri was a convinced, strong believer that it never hurt to double check for safety.

The windows were closed, as he expected.

The balcony doors were locked. He even stepped out side, for his own amusement, to make sure no climbing lines were being thrown and attached to the balcony rail.

He stepped back in questioning if he'd heard anything at all and if the medication was truly out of his system.

He paced around the darkened apartment.

It was the obvious of places that he found something amiss.

The front door.

It was obviously unlocked and the door was slightly cracked.

Dimitri hurried over in his long strides and peered out into the dimly lit hallway. There was no one there. He closed the door firmly and made sure it was locked, certain he'd locked it before.

He double checked the rooms the same as he had the first time, finding nothing wrong but there was something...

Something that didn't belong...

Something different...

He flicked the living room lights on and could feel the growth of his eyes as they widened. It was so small but his eyes flew to it immediately.

The living room didn't have much furniture as it was since he'd sold everything with the house in the suburbs he'd shared with Tasha.

On the bare coffee table a knife was stabbed into the table, a ring, the ring that had been her engagement ring, balanced on the end. A note was punctured at the end of the blade.

Dimitri hurried over and lifted the note up.

Beneath it, a photo of Rose was stabbed through multiple times, a photo he'd seen countless times at Rose's house.

'_See how easy it is for me to get to you, lover.'_

Dimitri tensed.

His first night home was not going as well as expected.

**_A/N: Thanks for the reviews and PMs. I had two chapters ready to post on monday and Wednesday but fanfiction decided to not save them. So sorry! With those deleted chapters was a better version of this chapter but I had to re-do it and it was hard since I couldn't remember everything I wrote verbatim but I tried. Sorry to those fans who don't find the Tasha moments (her psyco-ness) believable but honestly, ti's not like you're being forced to read it and try watching a lifetime movie sometime._**

**_Anways, thanks for the love._**

**_ladierock_**


	56. Chapter 56: Rose

_**Rose**_

Rose laid on the bed with her chin resting on her hands and her feet swinging back and forth behind her.

She was getting a little dizzy watching Dimitri fly back and forth across the room while she laid on her stomach, curious about why he was so riled up.

He'd been nonstop moving around and active since she'd woken up that morning to find Dimitri packing bags and a container of food.

He looked as if he hadn't slept at all that night while Rose herself had slept like a baby.

She'd woken up to the sounds of him mumbling small reminders to himself, a habit he had, while he packed.

"Dimitri?"

Her voice still full of sleep came out in a whisper but he'd heard her and looked up with an anxious smile on his face. He was trying to emanate calm. It wasn't working.

"You're up. Did you sleep well sweetheart?"

He moved to give her a quick kiss before flying back into motion.

Rose knew for certain now that something was wrong. The only term of endearment Dimitri ever used was Roza.

"I slept fine. What's going on?'

"Nothing," he replied a little too quickly. "Nothing's wrong," he said in a calmer tone. "I just thought we'd get a head start on this vacation thing and that we'd leave early, like now."

"Now?"

Rose was going to ask what was the big rush since it was pretty early in the morning and the she noticed the multiple mugs blanketing the dresser.

"How many cups of coffee have you had?"

"Hardly any," he shrugged closing one of the three suitcases he had packed.

Rose could see the jitteriness of his hand. "Riiiight," she said skeptically. She pulled the blankets back to get out of bed.

"Dimitri you just had major surgery. This much coffee can't be good for you right now."

She tried holding him in place but he was too jittery. He started to protest that he was alright but Rose wasn't having it. That was the one phrase she was tired of hearing.

She held his face, scruffy cheeks and all, between her hands. The warmth of his skin told her just how much he'd been moving around.

"Dimitri, listen to me. You need to relax and calm down. What's going on?" she asked in her no-nonsense voice.

He held her wrist to her lips and kissed it before stealing a fierce kiss from her parted lips. He was calming down a bit as he always did when she was with him. She could feel his heart rate thudding against chest, certain that it was from their passionate kissing and not from his rapid erratic movement from before.

Rose's own heart increase with excitement. She could feel the warm familiar swell of it in her chest and belly.

Dimitri grabbed her hard squeezing her tight against him similar to how he had the previous night. She felt her cheeks flush at the memory of their time spent in the bathtub. It was the best bath Rose had ever enjoyed. She wondered if that's where this was going.

She also wondered if this was Dimitri's new method of reassurance.

Eager as ever, he backed Rose up until she was flat on her back on the bed. She didn't even have time to register the quick removal of her clothes, glad she had worn something simple to bed. Dimitri was already on top of her not giving even the slightest chance to pull back and catch her breath.

He groaned as she gently shoved at him to get his attention. While shoving she found it hard to not simply enjoy the muscled, tender feel of his chest.

Her attempts to say his name were muffled against his mouth, his tongue brushing along her lip tangling with her own.

She figured the only way to get his attention before she herself became too distracted was to gently bite his bottom lip. It worked...but only for a second. He made a deep growl in his throat that made Rose feel excited all over again before using every other part of her body to touch his lips to.

"I get that we missed each other," she panted as he was focused on the side of her neck. "But there's something else going on here too isn't there?" she gasped as he began to nibble on her ear and the side of her mouth

He mumbled a response against her neck that she didn't hear.

"If this is you thinking you need to convince me to go away for the weekend, you don't have to. I 'm going with you. You also don't have to stop whatever you're doing with your hands down there," she moaned as his hold, the gentle touch, of his hands on her chest increased.

"What you do have to do is..." she struggled to finish her sentence.

Somehow, she managed to roll them over so that she was above him on his chest, holding him down with his full attention.

"What's going on?" she breathed.

Dimitri relaxed.

She thought for a moment that he was going to tell her, the complete truth of whatever it was that was bothering him but he didn't. She could see it in his eyes and on his face.

"There's a good reason though, isn't there? For why you won't tell me. There has to be a good reason."

He exhaled, locking his hands in her hair once more.

"There's a reason. I just want to enjoy us together for right now. Give me all of this vacation without worries and then we'll go from there. Please, Roza."

Without hesitation,not liking the pained look on his face she nodded. "Okay. After this you tell me everything."

Rose wanted to argue that she couldn't really be expected to enjoy herself if she was worrying about whatever it was he wasn't telling her but she let him win this one, for now.


	57. Chapter 57: Dimitri and Rose

_**Dimitri**_

"I think we have too much sex."

Dimitri struggled to laugh as his breathing was labored from the last bout of sex they'd just had.

"Impossible. Those words never go together in a sentence."

Rose sat up from the end of the bed she was laying on, leaning up on one arm resting on her elbow.

"Dimitri, name one day - since you've kidnapped me here -that we haven't done it?"

Dimitri laid back on his end of the bed trying and struggling to think back. He was having a hard time just focusing as he absent-mindedly rubbed his hand along Rose's calf and around to her shin. Just the warm feel of her skin with the thin layer of sweat distracted him and kept him from pulling words together into one coherent thought.

"Your silence is all the answer I need," Rose mumbled laying back on the bed. She said the words countless times for the three months they'd been there but she said them again for good measure, forceful, not playful this time. "We can't keep doing this, Dimitri."

"You're not enjoying the cloud of passion we've lived in? If you say no, I'm going to argue that the sex we just had tells me otherwise."

He was in a good mood. He'd been in a good mood even when he was worried sick that Tasha might suddenly appear. He kept from worrying about her with the pleasant distraction of Rose.

"This started out as a weekend._ One _weekend," she sighed covering her face with her hands.

"So?"

"So we've been here for two weekends now doing it! What's happened to the outside world! And the worst part of it all is that I'm stuck up here because Tasha Ozera is out to ruin my life."

Dimitri couldn't help but laugh. Rose had been calm the first two days. It wasn't until her curiosity started to get the better of her that she grew an y. Her patience completely wore out after the fifth day and the dramatic outburst began.

What wasn't so funny was the truth to it all.

He had held Rose 'captive' not only because he wanted to make up for lost time but because of Tasha, the sole reason for the lost time in the first place.

Time seemed to pass both quickly and slowly.

At first it had been a _weekend_ vacation.

As promised, Rose enjoyed the weekend without any questions. In fact she didn't have to ask any questions to figure out Dimitri's ulterior motives and when she did guess, and Dimitri told her of the note he'd found , she seem unphased and less surprised than he expected.

_"We have each other. She's crazy. I accept it," _was all she said.

After that, Dimitri, unsure of Rose's sudden calm about Tasha, did everything he could to make the most of the weekend and forget about Tasha. He went as far as extending their sudden vacation while he called in an old favor to look after his apartment and keep an eye on Tasha.

And here they were, two weeks later.

"We have to go home sometime." She turned onto her stomach, holding her head in her hands. "What are we waiting for?"

The one thing Dimitri hadn't told Rose about was the old friend he hired.

Dimitri opened his mouth to give her some lie. There were some things he didn't want to worry her with. It'd only make the situation seem so much worse. Rose spoke before he could say anything though.

"Dimitri, I want to go home. I miss the city, Lissa, even Christian on some weird level."

"Just give me one more -"

"One more what? Give me one good reason we've been staying here longer than we planned."

She waited patiently. He thought about telling her the truth, that he thought that this was going to get worse before it all got better. He could see her eyes clearly, a neutral brown, calm with a tint of something he couldn't quite decipher. He couldn't take that calm feeling away from her.

"Because..."

He let out a long breath. Reaching for Rose's hand, in one quick easy motion, he pulled Rose on top of him. Her body, perfectly fit and snug against him, was warm. She rested against him automatically, her back against his chest, both of his arms locked around her waist.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Because I love you and I don't want this vacation to end."

* * *

**_Rose_**

He said it.

The three words rang in Rose's ears like a song she couldn't get out of her head.

It was a full five minutes and many heartbeats before either of them said anything.

"Rose?"

Dimitri sounded amused behind her.

"Y-yeah?" She stammered.

"You weren't expecting that were you?"

Rose had to untangle herself from Dimitri to respond, shaking her head. She'd heard the words so many times before, from Lissa and her mother but from boyfriends? Never.

It sounded weird to her ears, foreign, like another language and Dimitri's accent didn't help.

"No, not really. I thought about saying it myself a lot lately but I imagined it differently. Someplace beautiful and the perfect moment."

"Not after sex?"

She shook her head.

Dimitri looked both amused and regretful.

"I wish I would've been enough of a romantic to wait until the perfect moment but truth be told, I've never really had to do the romantic thing. Not on my own anyway."

"I believe it," Rose laughed. "I mean look at you. Girls would be falling over their feet for you and I'm guessing Tasha , in all of her controlling ways, took care of all of your romantic moments," she guessed.

"Pretty much." His eyes darkened at the mention of Tasha but he seemed to force a slight smile. He was hiding something, that much was true.

Rose could tell, see it in his eyes the entire time they'd been up here.

She was too distracted by the 'I love you' admission that she decided to ignore Dimitri's lie until later, until he decided to come clean with her.

There had to be a good reason.

"So, you return the sentiment?" He asked wrapping the sheet around Rose a little tighter.

"I didn't say that," she responded, toying with him.

"Ah, but you did," he grinned. "And the amazing sex we have just seals the deal."

He pecked her on the lips and held her close against him once again. It'd become somewhat of a habit of his, holding her close, random pecks on the cheek just because he feels like it, and moments when she'd catch him staring at her only for him to say that it was for no reason in particular.

This is what love was, she realized.

The small gestures, moments that would only seem important to the one she shared them with, that consuming, tightening feeling in her stomach when he wasn't around and when he was around the loss of breath.

Yeah, she was in love.

She'd never seen, felt, or experienced it in this way before but she knew it was there.

Was it perfect?

No. Far from it.

But it was love.

Rose smiled, resting her head back against him in what had become the most comfortable and familiar of positions. "Yeah, alright the sex is amazing and I love you."


	58. Chapter 58: Dimitri and Rose

_**Dimitri**_

"Only you could end up with a crazy ex-fiance," Dimitri's friend Mikhail said jokingly.

He and Dimitri met in medical school but the pressure grew to be too much for him and he dropped out, preferring a life of simplicity.

"You are the last person that should be making any jokes about the state of someone's messed up life," Dimitri returned.

"Are you knocking my career as a private investigator?" Mikhail asked feigning mock hurt.

"In a word, yes. It's hard not to," Dimitri chuckled sipping his beer.

He had been back at work a week already and already he was stressed. It didn't help that there was a woman scorned with a vendetta against him.

"That's actually five words," the sandy-haired man pointed out. He took a swig at his own beer. "But I get your point."

The laughed and shred another round of beers before Dimitri brought up the serious subject.

"So, what've you found?"

"Besides a long history of instability not much. Oh and I thwarted an attempt to trash your apartment," he listed casually. "This girl's got it bad. I thought you were exaggerating."

"Unfortunately I'm not," Dimitri sighed running a tired hand over his unshaven and equally tired face. "This entire thing has just grown out of hand which is why I need your help. The police can't do much unless there's proof and I'm not waiting around for Tasha to for there to be proof."

"Well in the two weeks you gave me complete access to your apartment and your lady friend's place as well, what I've found is that Tasha has no qualms about breaking and entering. She 's broken in to either place two so far and unfortunately I have my video camera either time and it's unclear what she's taken if anything. She could be breaking in just to give you two an idea of the meaning of the word insane."

Dimitri leaned back in his chair finishing his drink.

He wasn't going to lie. Tasha had been on his mind a lot lately. If she was trying to get to him, it was working. The worst part of it all was that it seemed like he could only expect the unexpected.

"I'll still keep a close eye on her though. Your case has piqued my interest, making it to the top of my list."

"I'm probably the only case on your list," Dimitri joked as the two laughed.

"So who's this girl you've mentioned but have yet to go into detail about?"

Mikhail was one of Dimitri's friend who was well aware of his previously womanizing attitude toward women. Dimitri being in a relationship was nearly unbelievable to those who didn't see how much he'd changed and of course would elicit questioning. From those who knew the past Dimitri.

"She's...something special," he said simply.

After a long 'vacation' away with Rose, Dimitri wanted to keep Rose and all the moments they'd shared recently a secret for himself to enjoy and reflect upon only. Especially when she wasnt around.

"She must be for you to be smiling silly like that and I don't think it's the beer. You two serious?"

"We must be. I used those three words that I use to avoid at all cost this past weekend."

Mikhail raised his brows in surprise. "I don't believe it. She must be something extremely special for that to happen. I'd love to meet her."

"Soon just not yet. I don't want her to know how concerned I am about this Tasha thing. Would you stop grinning when I mention her name! She's insane."

" What can I say? The crazy ones have always been of interest to me. This chick has me intrigued," Mikhail told him setting his empty glass on the table.

Dimitri couldn't help but chuckle dryly before offering up the best advice he could.

"Don't get too intrigued, that's how I ended up with her."

* * *

_**Rose**_

"Come on you stupid piece of-" Rose was yelling at the car that had just cut her off at the light blocking both lanes.

She stopped, interrupted by her cellphone ringing. She clicked the 'accept' button on her phone and hit the speaker button, answering frustrated.

"Hello!"

"Whoa! Who's got your underwear in a bunch?" Mia asked amused.

"This stupid driver in this stupid car in this stupid traffic! Has traffic always been this bad or am I just now noticing it because I've been gone so long?"

"Both. Did you just use the word 'stupid' three times in one sentence? What are we? Five?"

Rose sighed as she inched the temporary car Dimitri had bought her along in traffic

"Dimitri says I curse too much."

"So...?"

"So I realized he was right when I spent twenty minutes cursing out a crossing guard and a class of third graders mimicked me."

Mia laughed on the other end of the line before listening to Rose angrily mutter profanity to the car in front of her again.

"Didn't you just come back from a sex filled vacation? Shouldn't you be all nice and calm and not sounding like a sex starved housewife?"

"Why do you assume it was a sex-filled vacation?"

"You expect me to believe you and that Russian god of yours talked and played chess the entire vacation?"

"Good point. Actually it's been an entire twelve hours since we've last had sex. I'm suffering from withdrawal."

"My sympathies, girl," Mia told her sounding genuinely apologetic.

Rose smiled as she listened to the noise in the background on Mia's end of the line.

"Are you at work?"

"Yeah, my honeymoon couldn't last forever. Not to say that we didn't spend our lunch breaks having a quickie in the back room but still. I actually called to ask why I'm watching your Russian man having drinks with an equally attractive man and why you aren't here?"

Rose struggled to focus on the road as she listened to Mia.

"Dimitri's at the bar?"

"You sound surprised which cannot be a good sign. He's been here a couple of hours with a fine friend of his, laughing it up."

Rose thought for a moment, remembering how earlier that morning Dimitri had said he was working late. As he had been the past week since they'd been back.

"...maybe he's gay," Mia was saying

Rose started laughing as she made her way onto a connecting road off of the freeway.

"I can assure you he's not," she nearly giggled.

"Your girlish laughter and his general hotness is proof enough. I believe you but still...didn't he tell you he'd be here? Are there secrets in the unconventional relationship already?"

"You work as a bartender and it's a Friday night. How can you be so bored that your creating problems that aren't there?"

"My vibrator ran out of batteries," Mia said simply. Rose could almost picture her friend shrugging nonchalant. "And Ivan's nowhere around so I thought I'd bug you. Now this guy as looking at me weirdly because I used the word vibrator. Vibrator, vibrator!" Mia shouted.

"I heard you the first time," Rose told her.

She was still distracted by thoughts of Dimitri but she stored them away for later.

"I figured if I said it enough this guy would stop giving me the 'wanna do dirty deed' sign but he's still staring. Anyways, since you don't want to talk about your boyfriend and Lissa told me it's inconvenient when o call her during class, that girl can swear when she wants to, let's talk about you. Where re you headed in this afternoon traffic?"

"Back to my house to get some clothes. I haven't been there in so long it probably looks abandoned."

"Why don't you just move in with him? You practically live there anyway."

Rose's heart thumped and the blood pumped in her ears. Memories of the last time Rose and Dimitri had lived together plagued her mind. That wasn't a time in their weird relationship Rose wanted to return to.

"No way. Things are fine the way they are. Why ruin it?" Rose asked after voicing her worries.

"You sound like the old me," Mia scoffed. "Remember when I use to say that. 'Why ruin a good thing like sex by making it more serious?' Now I can't imagine living without Ivan." Rose couldn't help smiling at the sweetness of Mia's words.

To be completely honest with herself, she couldn't imagine life without Dimitri and didn't know how she'd made it through so many years without him. Being without him now was painstaking.

She just didnt want the good times they were having to be ruined. Why couldn't things stay the same?

It seemed the good times couldn't last forever because there were already secrets, secrets that Dimitri was keeping. Rose knew it had to be for a good reason and had yet to call him on it, hoping he'd just eventually decide to let her in on them but still, it hurt Being on the outside, especially after the 'I love you's' were exchanged.

"You speak he truth but your case is different from mine."

"Just because I'm a married woman now doesn't mean I can't relate. In all seriousness, just talk to him."

"You rarely put so much thought into advice about my boyfriends before," Rose noted.

"Yeah well I actually like this boyfriend of yours. He's been good to you lately, much better than that ass Adrian. Even with the baggage he comes with, you two are good together. Even Ivan sees it."

"You mean you, and Ivan do more than just have sex and have real conversations?" Rose asked jokingly.

"Ha ha ha."

"Didn't even think you knew his name," Rose said between laughs.

"You see,this is why I don't like getting all sentimental girly because none of you take me seriously!" She shouted.

Rose was still laughing, trying to recover.

"Fine, new subject, I'm bored with this one. What've you been up to that isn't Dimitri related?" Mia asked.

Rose realized then that she had been so out of contact with the real world and wrapped up in Dimitri, literally, she hadn't spoken to her friend since the party.

"I've been...actually taking a few college classes."

"WHAT?! That's great! Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because I registered the day I got back from my 'vacation' and just took my first class on Monday. It's not a big deal," she brushed off.

"It's a huge deal! Dimitri probably said the same thing."

"He doesn't know," Rose mumbled. "Not even Lissa knows."

"Why not?"

Rose leaned against the window, inching along in traffic. "Mia, you and I weren't like Lissa in high school. She loved high school and we both know that she's going places in life. She has a good future ahead of her. Even you have a future you're planning for-"

"Hey, my dream of being a designer is a long way off."

"At least you're in the right school and you know what you want to do. Not only did I register late in the semester but I haven't the slightest idea what I want to do. I feel like an idea in the two classes I have now and it's embarrassing going to community college and still struggling."

"I see why you didn't say anything to Lissa but at least Dimitri should know."

"He went to amazing colleges, The best in the country. I look like an idiot in comparison so don't say anything okay? To anyone, including your horny husband."

"Alright I'll keep your secret for now but consider telling him. I'll keep an eye on your boyfriend to make sure he gets home okay."

Rose said she'd consider telling him before thanking and hanging up with her friend.

She decided that she should stay off of the freeways during rush hour from now on and exited.

She took a few side streets before she ended up in a familiar neighborhood.

She pulled to the side as the pawn shop caught her eye. It seemed so long ago since she'd walked pass this very pawn shop the morning after Dimitri left her in that motel room after one of their trysts.

She remembered the promises she'd made herself that day and how she'd been just as exhausted that day as she was now. She also remembered the necklace she'd pawned when her and Lissa were down on their luck.

Without really thinking about it, Rose climbed out of the Honda Pilot she was driving and went into the pawn shop. When the man behind the counter remembered her after brief greetings he asked if she was looking for anything in particular.

"I was hoping you still had that very necklace I pawned?" Rose asked him.

"I'm sorry. Ironically enough, it sat here all these years until about a week ago when an older gentleman bought it."

Rose nodded sadly, thanking the man, before leaving.

She sat in the rented car for a long time outside the pawn shop before taking off. She started to cry halfway home, full sobs that shook her entire body so much she had to pull over again the catch her breath and control herself.

The necklace had been a gift from her mother. Rose went all of these months without thinking about it and it was gone now. She couldn't believe she'd even pawned it in the first lace, good reason or not.

She was sure that as much as she was crying about the lost necklace, she was crying for everything else. She was nineteen years old and so much had happened.

She couldn't seem wrap her head around it all.

For the first time in a long time, she sat alone, by herself and just cried until there were no more tears left.


	59. Chapter 59: Rose and Dimitri

**_Rose_**

It was completely silent.

Summer was here, making the nights warm and humid with the softest of breezes billowing Rose's hair in the wind.

She stood outside of her house, amazed at how much time had passed since she'd last been there. She was reluctant to even go inside, fearful of the possibility of someone, namely Tasha, hiding inside.

As calm, cool, and collected as Rose seemed at the mention of Tasha, she was actually pretty freaked out that there was someone in the world who wanted to hurt her. She was too exhausted to dwell on thoughts of Tasha and headed inside, ignoring the unsettling feeling that she was being watched.

The place was as she left it: boxes, some still packed, were shoved into random corners of the room, a thin layer of dust blanketed the majority of the house's surfaces, and the mail was piled in front of the front door.

The house seemed abandoned and Rose suddenly wondered why Dimitri even bothered moving out with the majority of time Rose spent at his apartment.

She walked through the house, not the least bit comforted by the quietness, the creak of the wooden floors, and the chill that blew through each room from the patio door that was cracked open.

Rose could have sworn she locked that patio, although it was rare when she did, and couldn't remember, not giving it a second thought as she headed up the stairs to her room.

Her sudden outburst in her rent-a-car outside the pawn shop prompted Rose to remember.

She paused in front of the second door that led into the room that use to be Andre's.

She remembered the tall, deep voiced blonde that use to be her older cousin. She remembered his contagious laughter, how he treated Rose like another sister, and his love of cars. The last thought made Rose shudder and laugh humorless at the irony.

Without going in, she moved on. She went to the next bedroom door, past the bathroom, to the room that had been her uncle Eric's. As a father's day gift, Rhea had given Eric his own private room, a "mancave " she jokingly called it, since it seemed he could never get any privacy or work done. She remembered her uncle with brown glistening brown eyes, golden-haired uncle whose soft features resembled Lissa more than Andre.

She remembered his love of cars that he shared with his son, staring and pointing out constellations in the stars with Lissa, and, despite their marital troubles, never once looking at Rhea without an ounce of love in his eyes. She remembered how he was just as caring as Rhea was whenever Janine and Rose stayed with them and how he even dedicated an entire day with Rose whenever given the chance to make both her and Janine feel welcome in their family.

Most importantly to Rose, she remember how he surprised Rose and Lissa by taking them to a father -daughter dance their school was having and proudly proclaiming that he was more than happy to take a day from work to dance with his _two_ daughters.

Again, without going in, Rose moved on to the neighboring room at the end of the hall that had been Rhea's. Actually it had been Rhea and Eric's bedroom but with Eric spending most of his time in the "mancave", Rose remembered Rhea coveting their bedroom as her own. She use to let Lissa and Rose play dress up with her beautiful clothes and makeup she didnt need. Her aunt had soft delicate features, silky platinum blonde hair with a few reddish auburn strands that matched her sister Janine's. Rose recalled Rhea even showing them how to properly apply it for when they were old enough. She remembered her aunt struggling with Janine's death as much as Rose did but promised to be there for her as much as she was there for her own children.

Rose smiled at the memories, sliding down against the door until she sat on her bottom, her skirt splayed around her as she started to cry again.

She never missed her family so much.

It took a full hour before Rose could calm herself down enough to stand and head to her room. She took her time to pack a few more of her clothes and belongings. She wasn't in any hurry to leave just yet because she wasn't sure of the next time she 'd come back here.

She sat on her bed with an old photo of her mother, Rhea, and Eric when they were younger and dressed up for some event that looked like a wedding, a young Andre standing in front of his mother while she balanced a baby Lissa. Eric held one arm around Rhea's waist while the other was hidden behind where Janine was leaning in to the close up photo smiling as slightly as the two other adults in the photo as if they'd been forced. Janine's thick hair was relaxed flat and less curly and frizzy than Rose was use to. The color was even darker, more brown close to black at the roots where a few red strands mixed in. She stood at the very edge of the photo, almost obscured by the frame. She was wearing her silk scarf. Rose started to smile until she remembered who it was that gave her mother the scarf. She wondered where he was in the photo until she looked closer at the scarf and where it hung. Barely beneath the edge of the scarf's end, was the tip of a hand at her mother's waist.

She pulled the photo from the frame encasing and gasped. As many times as she stared and admired the photo she was surprised that it was folded over the tall, dark-haired, tanned man who was her father.

He stood unsmiling and towering over her mother. She started to wish that she never unfolded the edge of the photo until it occurred to her that someone folded the photo in the first place. She remembered Eric had been the one to give her the photo and the frame after Janine had died.

_"I thought you might like this."_

_He set a small cool frame with the word 'family' engraved at the bottom on Rose's lap. She wanted to smile but couldn't seem to do it. She flipped the photo frame over and suddenly found it easy to smile, with her mother smiling slightly back at her next to her aunt and uncle and cousins._

_"It's one of the few photos I was able to find of Janine. We don't have very many...well we didn't but now that you're here, it's better than a photo. You're the real thing since you look like her," he ramble.  
_

_Rose could see he'd been crying. His eyelids were rimmed red but she didn't remember him crying at the funeral but the again she hadn't stayed for the entire service._

_She could see him closely, closer than she'd ever been able to. _

_He looked like the same nice, young uncle he'd always been but Rose was noticing something different...his eyes were darker and his hair wasn't as blonde at the roots as she had thought._

_He was just as sad and affected by all of this as everyone else was. Rhea had looked just as bad the last Rose saw her crying in the kitchen. She remembered everyone saying that Rhea and Janine had been close with Eric since high school._

_She put her much smaller hand over his and mustered up a smile to thank him and received a similar one in return._

_"This is nice," she whispered looking at the photo she held in both hands, her smile falling a bit. She wondered why he'd given her a photo with everyone in it but her. As if reading her expression, Eric smiled slightly looking at the photo._

_"You're in this photo too." Rose looked up confused. "You weren't born yet," he added pointing to where Janine's stomach could barely be seen, her bulge obscured by the blouse she was wearing._

_Rose moved her eyes from her mother's stomach and settled on her face, noticing how beautiful she was. Eric smiled again, just slightly, patted Rose's hand and left her with the photo. She stared at her face until she couldn't see the image of her hanging form any more and started to sob._

Rose shuddered and stuffed the photo and the frame into her bag, not wanting to dwell on anything to ruin her good memories, especially not her father. She made a mental note to ask Lissa about it later and finished packing her stuff.

The house didn't feel as safe and comforting anymore but Rose packed more than she intended and before she knew it, she was exhausted. The crying and reflecting taking it's toll on her, she laid down on her bed to catch a few moments of rest.

The feeling that she was being watched is what woke her up.

She stood and walked to the window in her bedroom that led out onto the street. It was completely dark out and all she could see were the silhouettes of houses and parked cars, as well as her own rent-a-car, unable to make out if anyone was in them.

She grabbed her bag off the bed, ready to leave. She stood in the middle of the room trying to save every last thought and memory.

She thought about her conversation with Mia and the suggestion that she should move in with Dimitri permanently. In a large , quiet house by herself with the unsettling feeling that wouldn't go away, that idea sounded pretty good right about now. In reality though, with the secret keeping between the two of them and her reluctance to leave the comfort of familiarity, she still thought it best that she kept her own place on the side as a safety net. She and Dimitri wouldn't really be ready to move in together again until Rose dealt with a few demons she felt she needed to handle and resolve. Things were fine as they were for now.

She left the room and headed downstairs to check and triple check the windows and doors. She had a problem completely closing the patio but she fixed it as much as could.

She grabbed her bag and left out the door.

She drove, unable to shake the feeling that she we still being watched.

It was almost eleven and the roads were just as bad as they had been earlier. Rose detoured down a few side streets until she ended up in front of the cemetary.

Rose found it an odd coincidence since she'd been reflecting on memories of her family the majority of the day. Thinking of Lissa and how she would say this was a sign, she pulled in front of the cemetary, surprised it even open.

She wasn't ready to go home just yet and wanted to think about a few more things and what better place to be alone and have complete silence.

She made her way to the familiar graves, oddly comfortable in the deathly quiet cemetary. She squatted in front of the familiar grave stone for a few moments with only the moonlight and a few street lamps to provide light.

She wondered if it hadn't been for the pregnancy scare, the depression that followed, and Lissa's intervention, would she have ever come back to visit this place.

She brushed a stray piece of overgrown grass off of her mother's grave lost in thought.

_"Mommy, what happens when people die?"_

_Janine looked down at her daughter who laid in her small bed ready to sleep._

_"Why would you ask me something like that?" She whispered, sliding into bed and encircling her arm around her daughter so that she lay in a protective motherly nook. _

_Rose hesitated. She didn't want to remember the loud yelling her father had done before he left this morning but her mother was staring down at her with worried eyes._

_"Daddy said that-"_

_"Don't listen to what your father said," Janine interrupted speaking fiercely in Turkish. _

_"B-but he said-"_

_"Rose listen to me!" Rose's heart leaped out of her chest at her mother's stern tone. Janine immediately relaxed, quieting her tone. __She could feel more than hear her mother's deep intake of breath as Janine gestured for Rose to lay against her chest before she answered._

_"Daddy was just mad," was all Janine said. She paused to think of a gentle way to respond to her daughter. "He...he didn't mean it."_

_"He always sounds like he means it," Rose whispered. "Why does he hate us?" _

_After so many years of her father pushing her away or just ignoring her, Rose finally realized and accepted that her father wasn't a good man and that he didn't seem to like his family. _

_He was nothing like her uncle Eric who Lissa swore up and down was the best father ever and Rose had to agree. _

_"He doesn't hate-"_

_"Mommy," Rose interrupted. She was almost nine years old now and she could tell when her mother was lying. She wanted the truth._

_There was no denying that her father had meant it earlier when he shouted that Janine would die and go to hell for what she's done. Rose just wanted to know what he'd been talking bout and if it had anything to do with why he hated them so much._

_Janine seemed too tired to lie to her. She let out one long breath before starting._

_"Your father..."_

The vibration of her phone jarred Rose from her memories.

It was a text message from Dimitri.

**Coming home soon I hope.**

Usually, Dimitri's texts brought out an uncontrollable smile. She started to but couldn't completely muster one up , remembering how he was hiding something and wouldn't let her in on what it was.

She quickly texted back **'Soon' **before tucking her phone back into her pocket and returning to her memories.**  
**

_"You're not going to die are you mommy?" Rose asked once her mother finished her explanation for her father's hatred._

_Rose had a feeling she was still lying. She was too tired to push the subject though. She rested against her mother's chest, sleep tugging at her. Her fears were too distracting though, preventing her from falling asleep._

_"I don't want you to die."_

_Janine was trembling trying to hide her tears from her daughter but Rose knew they were there with each of the sobs._

_"No, baby. I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here with you."_

___Maybe we can live at Lissa's for a while and be safe there," Rose suggested in a sleepy voice. "Auntie Rhea and uncle Eric won't mind."_

___Janine slightly laughed, each motion shaking both hers and Rose's body._

___"We can't do that. We're there enough as it is. It's not that bad here," she added sounding uncertain._

_"Daddy said-" she tried repeating but Janine interrupted again._

_"I'm not leaving you."_

_"I'm not leaving you, " she repeated. "I won't ever leave you...I promise," she swore, her voice trembling._

_Young Rose notice that the promise didn't sound like all the other promises she'd made but she nodded, her mother kissed the top of her head, and she fell asleep._

The vibration of Rose's phone jarred her from her memories again.

**Does it sound overprotective if I ask where you are and if you're safe? **Dimitri sent.

She couldn't help smiling that time despite the stream of tears that were flowing down her cheeks.

She cleared her throat, wiping tears from her face as if Dimitri could see her through the phone.

**From anyone else, yes. I went to pick up a few things from my place. **she messaged back.

As an afterthought she added **You must'very been pretty worried to **text **me. You hate texting**

Within seconds: **I'm sick of you and Ivan berating me for not being more modern with technology so I thought I'd give it a try. **

She laughed aloud. Realizing where she was and how inappropriate it seemed to be texting in a cemetary. She stood, punching in a reply. **Ah.**

**Do you want me to meet you so you don't drive back alone?**

She smiled at the sweet offer. **Love that you're proving chilvary is not dead but I'll be fine. **

He sent one last reply: **See you soon then. Running you a hot bath as we speak. Love you**

Rose tucked her phone into her skirt pocket as she started to turn away from the grave with a touch of her lips to the cool marble. She walked out of the cemetary, unnerved by the eerie quiet. She hit the button to unlock her rent-a-car.

The unsettling feelings from earlier were starting to fade until she walked around the front of her car and walked right into someone.

"'Scuse me," she started to apologize after shrieking.

The moonlight and street lamps illuminated the tall man's silhouette. Rose could see he had thick dark hair on his head and around his mouth as a goutee. He wore a simple dark suit without a tie and for some reason or another was smiling to one side.

"Hello Rosemarie."

"How do you know my..." she froze, realizing with the unmistakable accent that it was her father.

There was a long silence as they stared one another down. Excluding the light gray that colored the sides of his hair and the crinkles around his eyes he still looked the same. The only different was a slight air of confident arrogance.

"Long time," he commented after a long moment.

Rose had a few choice words as a response but the conflicting emotions flowing through her body prevented any words from forming and coming out of her mouth. It was a few minutes before she replied.

"I almost didn't recognize you. I'm do use to only seeing your back as you walk away."

"Rosemarie-"

"No, wait. I remember your face but it looks more familiar to me when you're yelling."

Rose felt cold and numb. She didn't know what to think looking at her father, Ibrahim Mazur. She wasn't sure if she should even bother to be angry at him and blame him for everything when she so rarely saw him and didn't even really know. She count on her hands, one hand, the amount of times she spent an entire day with him without any yelling and arguing. And that was only because he was ignoring her completely.

He stared down at her with gleaming black eyes, his face void of any emotion.

"Are you done?" He asked after a long while.

"Actually yes, I am done." She walked around him, or tried those, but he stepped in front of her blocking the car door.

"I honestly don't know how I expected you to react calm and mature but-"

"Well forgive me," Rose said sarcastically. "I'm a little overwhelmed. I walked back from my mother's grave in the middle of the night to find the man who ruined my life standing like a stalker outside by my car whose probably been following me all day. Frankly I've had enough. It's been a long year, I already have one stalker, I had a pregnancy scare sort of, I have an ulcer, I survived an abusive relationship, I actually killed some one this year daddy and I have no problem doing it again to the weak man standing in front of me."

Rose struggled to catch her breath and to hold back the tears but she managed. And it helped that she cried herself dry earlier. Abe stared down, eyes slightly widened at her list of revelations but other than that he looked nonplussed.

"Weak," he repeated. Rose scoffed that that was the only word in her rant that bothered him and that he hung on to.

"Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "A weak man stands outside of the cemetary where his wife lays because she killed herself. Someone who's weak, pushes and abuses the woman he's married to and leaves when things get too rough. You're a weak bastard."

A grinned slightly , one sided.

"On the contrary, you are very literally the bastard in this situation."

"What the hell are you talking about? Is this about my mom 'tricking you into marrying her ' cause that's bull."

"Is this what your mother told you?"

"You ask that as if it isn't the truth."

"It's not."

The idea of her mother lying hurt but the idea of Abe being the one to tell the truth hurt more.

"Whatever. Say what you want. She's dead now, it doesn't matter. I don't even want to know why you're here. Why should I believe you anyway? I'm done here. Move."

To her surprise he actually stepped aside.

She climbed into her car and Started to shut the door but his hand stopped her.

"When you mature and feel like hearing the truth, call me."

He tossed a card at her and slammed the door shut for her, retreating back to his own car, a range rover a few feet away. She glanced at the card with his name and phone number on it and the words 'Special Services' underneath Before tossing it on to the passenger seat and pulling away.

No tears fell this time. She wasn't going to cry for him. She refused to.

She laughed to herself as she drove, remembering the same thought she'd had earlier, that Lissa would say this was fate and that Rose went through this entire day for some cosmic reason.

Rose laughed at first but the it started to sink in. Everything. Everyone she'd ever known went through her mind dancing in front of her eyes as images. She swerved a bit and screeched to a stop, trembles and sobs shaking her body.

She gathered herself quickly, still shaking and trembling, and pulled back onto the road.

Rose shook her head, focusing on the road and the pleasant reminder that she had someone waiting for her at a place she felt comfortable enough to call home, someone who loved her and could hopeful make her forget anything she didn't want to remember.

Rose drove until she was sure this lone, cosmic day and the unsettling feeling and tears that came with it were long behind her.

* * *

_**Dimitri**_

The first thing Dimitri noticed when Rose came home was that she was shaking and cold.

He pecked her on the lips or he tried to but she was trembling so much he missed and kissed the side of her mouth instead. He took her bag from her hands and set it aside, sure to lock the front door behind her. Before pulling her into him.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" He tilted her head left and right to see if she had any obvious signs that she'd been hurt in some way. He started lifting her arms and clothes, inspecting her body for damage, certain Tasha had somehow gotten to her.

"I'm...I'm fine," she struggled to assure him. She gently pushed his hands away from her and down to his sides.

Dimitri could see straight through the small barely-there smile that she tried to wear.

"Roza," he started.

"I'm good. Really, Dimitri, I am. I just need that bath you ran for me."

She pecked him on the cheek, leaving a cool spot on his skin, before retreating quickly to the bedroom.

Dimitri hesitated before grabbing her bag and following. He had a feeling something was off earlier and his instincts told him to call her instead of texting to be sure. He also should've met her even when she'd said not to.

There was nothing he could about what he should've done. Except find out what was going on now.

Rose was already in the bathroom but the door was cracked. He could hear soft sobs and sniffles. He tossed her bag aside and pushed the door open, not bothering to ask if it was okay that he did.

What he saw shocked him.

Rose was on the floor, tears streaming down her face, curled into herself with her knees pulled to her chin.

He immediately fell to the floor in front of her. He took a hold of both hands unwrapping them from her knees so that he could see her.

She looked...broken.

He pulled her to him tightly, letting her cry it out. She stiffened at first.

He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her temple.

She melted against him. He settled himself beside her on the tiled bathroom floor and pulled her onto his lap.

He could see dry streaks of tears on her cheeks but she wasn't crying now. She was shaking with sobs that shook her entire body. He pushed her hair back.

"Roza, please tell me what's wrong."

"My...I went to m-my h-house And..."

"Rose, I can't understand a word you're saying. Calm down. I'm here, there's no one else, you're safe. Please, just tell me what happened," he whispered caressing the side of her face.

She struggled to take one long breath.

She couldn't seem to calm down so he kissed her, salty tears and all. Her pressed his lips to every part of her that he could until she seemed to calm down. She shook less the more his lips brushed her skin and sighed when his hands run under her peasant blouse along her smooth skin. He made his way to the tender spot along her neck. She trembled and he could hear her intake of breath telling him she'd calmed down.

She was leaning against the warmth of his neck, taking deep slow breaths before she spoke.

"I s-saw my father."

He hadn't been ready or expected that.

Seeming to realize that she caught him off guard, she continued.

"He followed me from my house t-to the cemetary where I saw him."

Cemetary?

"Rose, I don't understand. Start from the beginning."

She told him of how she went to pick up a few clothes to when her father, Abe, confronted her outside the cemetary.

"I don't even know why I'm crying ," she whispered and laughed dryly.

"Maybe because while you were remembering all of the good times with your family he reminded you of the bad," he suggested losing his hands in her hair. "I hate that he made you feel like this."

"What're you going to do? Best him up," she giggled snuggling into his shirt. "'Cause i'd be okay with that."

He chuckled, enclosing his arms around her. "I'll look into it," was all he said, thinking of Mikhail and how Rose knew nothing about him.

He sensed Rose had a few more secrets of her own but he thought it better if she kept it to herself for now while he still had his own secrets. She'd been through enough today and so had he.

"You know, earlier, when you were texting me, you said I love you and I didnt say it back."

"I know, I wasn't going to say anything but you had me worried there for a moment," he smiled.

"I love you and don't ever think I don't," she told him before kissing him fiercely. He had a feeling this had to do with her parents but he wasn't going to dwell on it now, not when he had her all to himself for a while, taking one moment without the gravity of their secrets weighing them down.

"How about that bath?" She asked pulling back. "Care to join me?"

He didn't hesitate.

It was hard not to. In her long skirt and clingy shirt she looked every bit the exotic princess he'd first seen at that café so long ago. He stood both of the up, sitting on the edge of the tub himself to warm the water. Rose stood in front of him expectantly.

"Undress me," she said softly.

He didn't even know where to begin.

He decided to work his way up from the bottom. Helping to pull off the boots she'd been wearing as shed leaned on him for support, her legs were quickly uncovered and bare from the knees down. One pull of her string at the waist loosened the skirt and it pooled at her feet. She kicked it aside wrapping her arms around his neck. Sitting down while she stood, he was eye level with her chest and was more than pleased with the view of her breasts held in a lacey black bra after he helped tug her blouse off.

A kiss was pressed to her flat stomach and ended in a trail at her breasts.

Somewhere in the back of his mind his conscious told him that it was wrong for either of them to take advantage and seek comfort in each others vulneralbility at a weird time when everything seemed to be building up and he was sure Rose was just as aware.

As wrong as it may have been morally, it felt so right.

Unable to hold back any longer at the sight of Rose in front of him in nothing but her bra and underwear, her long locks framing her face, he grabbed her against him, their mouths managing to find one another in the rush to further undress and become one.

He was so distracted by the feel of her tongue against his and her hands making their way along his thighs and down his shirt, roaming his body, only to meet at the wais of his jeans as she straddled him an became more undressed that he didn't notice how they were inching closer to the edge of the tub .

They didn't break their kiss as they fell over the side of the tub, only pulling apart when neither would hold back their laughter as the uneasiness of the day faded into the air.

* * *

_**A/N: long chapter, kinda slow but I'm trying to tie up this story (because I had actually, initially, intended for this story to be twelve chapters) and I put in a Dimitri and Rose scene after so much rambling do that should count for something. A lot of you guys guessed Dimitri as the one who bought the necklace but I thought it sounded creepy that an older gentleman' (who I meant to be Rose's father) was the same guy who sleeps with Rose s no it's Abe but it'll make send later in the story. Loved the reviews! You guys are awesome**_


	60. Chapter 60: Lissa

**_Lissa_**

"What is he doing here? What does he want?"

Lissa felt panicked.

She remembered meeting her uncle by marriage a handful of times and she remembered not liking him. He was the tall scary man who upset aunt Janine and cousin Rosie. He was the quiet unsmiling man who wasn't nice to cousin Rose. He was the reason Liss was more than willing to share her dad with her cousin because Rose's dad didn't play with her.

She didn't like when Rose was upset when they were younger and now that they were adults and Abe could still make his daughter feel this way, she hated him.

She barely knew him , the man who had seemed out-of-place with the rest of the family from what she could remember, and she hated him.

Rose sat across from Lissa with her elbows on the table while nibbled on the tips of her fingers. Lissa had always seen Rose as beautiful, especially now with the flower print dress she wore and her long hair curled and pulled back with a headband, but the nervous expression on her face was distracting.

"Did he say anything?"

"I didn't really give him a chance to. He just said something about me knowing the truth and then he gave me this card."

She tossed Liss a card she'd been holding in her hands.

"Special services?" She asked raising a brow.

"Yeah, sounds shady right?" Rose gave a fake smile. She ran her fingers through her hair messing it up. "I haven't had time to really look it up," she said softly.

Lissa was about to reach out and comfort her but Dimitri came through his front door balancing three sodas and a pizza. If there was anyone other than Lissa who could comfort Rose it was Dimitri.

"I got us an everything pizza, some pasta, basically everything Italian," he announced.

"My favorite ," Rose said trying to brighten up, wiping imaginary tears off her face.

He leaned down to kiss the top of her head and set the food on the table. He went for a few plates in the kitchen and settled down beside Rose.

"You okay?" He asked distributing a pizza slice and some of the food on Rose's plate.

Rose nodded. "I am now." They leaned in for a few pecks on the lips seemingly forgetting Lissa was across from them for a moment.

Lissa watched curiously.

The few times she spent with Rose and Dimitri , she'd become fascinated by how tender and caring he was about their relationship and how Rose's face lit up when he was around. She and Christian had their own relationship, tender and loving in their own ways but it was something new, almost extraordinary, seeing someone who could make Rose so happy.

"Sorry," Rose blushed realizing her cousin was watching them.

She patted Dimitri gently on the chest to remind him they had company and he gave her one last kiss to the forehead before turning to pour their sodas.

"It's okay, this is payback for all those times Christian and I made out in front of you," Lissa laughed.

Rose nodded, remembering, and smiled.

"So have you told her everything?" Dimitri asked after a long moment of the three simply eating, or Lissa and Dimitri eating while Rose pushed her food around.

Rose nodded, dropping her fork to run her hands over her tired eyes.

"I just can't believe he's here, after all this time," Lissa said shaking her head disbelieving.

"And what did he mean about you knowing the truth, what's that about?" She added scooping salad into her mouth.

"I don't know," Rose began, dropping her shoulders, 'but I think it has to do with the photo I found."

"What photo?' Lissa asked as Rose pulled a picture frame from the chair beside her. She slid the photo out and handed it to Lissa.

"So it's a picture of our parents," Lissa said unsure of what the big deal was.

She ran her hand over the crease where it looked as if the photo had been folded over. "Oh, I remember this photo," she said a moment later. "My dad gave this to you after you moved in. I remember because it use to sit in his office. He and mom fought over this photo for some reason," she added softly, remembering her parents.

"I was just wondering if you knew why Abe was folded over," Rose said taking the image from her cousin's hands.

"Probably so you wouldn't have to think of Abe after your mom just died," she guessed shrugging.

"But do you remember Abe being in the photo before uncle Eric gave this to me?"

Lissa paused for a moment trying to had that funny feeling of trying to recall a childhood memory that she could've sworn happened not to long ago.

_"Lissa you shouldn't eaves drop," Andre scolded passing down the hall._

_"Mom and dad are fighting again," she whispered, keeping one eye on the crack between the ajar door that led into her father's office._

_"They always fight. You should be use to it," he shrugged._

_"No, this time is different," she muttered, unable to explain the weird feeling she had in her stomach when her parent's argued. "I don't want them to upset Rose," she added a moment later._

_"She probably use to it," he murmured peeking over her shoulder to see their parents. He patted Lissa on the head. "Don't get caught, Lissy," he advised continuing down the hall._

_Despite her brother's warnings she stayed longer to discern what the argument was about. They had their disagreements before, sure, but it seemed they couldn't have any conversation without arguing lately._

_"...jealous because she'll have a picture of him, it's ridiculous," her mother was saying."She should have a nice picture of her mother, her family because she doesn't have many."_

_"I know that but she doesn't need this photo," Eric grumbled._

_Rhea sighed, finishing folding the towels in her laundry basket. "It's the only one with all of us and I think it'd be nice. It'd make her feel better. __She needs to know she has us now. We're all she has left. She's my niece, our responsibility now, and I want her to feel welcome and to know we'll be there for her full time now."_

_Eric 's head snapped up at her words, eyes blazing. "I've been there for her, many times before this happened!" _

_"More than that!" Rhea returned dropping her basket . "It has to be more than that. My sister is dead. Her daughter Rose, she's here permanently now! She needs us in her life, preferably without the lies but now isn't the time for that. Now it's about her," she added lowering her voice from before._

_Eric sighed looking up from the photo. "I know all of this Rhea. It's just...hard. I don't want her to remember him. she should have better than this, more than just a photo. One that doesn't include him," he said with a note of regret in his voice._

_"Then make sure it's never unfolded," she suggested. "Just give her photo," she added picking up her laundry and heading through the bedroom's adjoining door to the bathroom to leave. _

_Lissa took that moment to enter the room, fearful her mother would come Down the hallway and see her._

_Eric didn't notice Lissa was in the room until after he'd refolded one end of the photo, touching the worn crease, and stared at it._

_"Hey sweetie. What's wrong?" He asked seeing his daughter's somber face. One long look and he knew. "Your mom and I were just talking...trying to figure everything out."_

_Lissa nodded, hearing the familiar excuse before._

_He shared a look with his daughter as if checking to see if she believed him before letting out a long sigh and returning his attention back to the photo in his hands._

_Lissa didn't know what to do. She looked around the room her father spent so much time in and saw the empty picture frame on his desk. She grabbed it and brought it over to him, holding it out in her mall hands._

_He looked up gratefully with one of his beautiful dad smiles that she loved earning. "Thanks sweetie."_

_He took the frame and slid the photo in, turning it over, face up in his hands. "What do you think?"_

_She crawled beside him and he helped her the rest of the way onto his lap. "I think Rosie will like it," she told him, wondering why the photo that had sat on his desk so long was folded over again, covering her uncle who she'd never noticed in the photo before now._

_She wasn't going to ask though. She just wanted to help._

_He gave her a kiss on the top of her head and one arm hug before patting her arm to tell her he was getting up._

_"What would I do without you my little princess," he smile standing. _

_He patted her on the head once more before walking out of the room. Lissa stood a moment longer, happy she could help, before running off to find her mom._

"I'm confused," Rose said once Lissa finished recalling her memory.

"So the photo had been folded over before that happened," Dimitri tried to clarify.

Lissa nodded. "I didn't even know Abe was in the picture until that night and then I forgot about it."

"So they hated Abe even before then," Rose murmured. "I don't get why. My mother said he wasn't always the asshole that he is now. Something must've changed because they were friends in high school, all of them. I wonder what it was."

"Maybe they just didn't see how...abusive he was until later. It happens," Dimitri said gently.

Rose touch his arm gently, pulling him from whatever thoughts he was suddenly lost in.

He smiled at her gratefully.

"None of this makes any sense. Maybe this is all connected to whatever Abe wants to tell you," Lissa guessed. "It has to be."

"Sounds like you want me to talk to him," Rose said pushing her food around without looking up.

"I want you to do what makes you feel better."

"Same here," Dimitri added.

He combed a hand through Rose's hair absent-mindedly, tucking a lock behind her ear. She smiled gratefully for the affection but tensed, very aware of the situation at hand.

Rose's shoulders fell, probably more confused on what she should do than ever.

Lissa wished that she had more answers for her cousin or could her but she was just as lost.

"How about we just forget all of this for right now. I have too much on my mind to worry about without having to go through all of this. Maybe he'll just go away."

Rose didn't sound so sure and Dimitri and Lissa shared a look that said she didn't look so sure either but if she wanted to pretend just for a while that everything would sort it self out, the least they could do was give her the false hope.

"Alright, we'll leave it all alone for now," Lissa and Dimitri nodded, both silently very aware that eventually whatever they repressed now would come back to haunt them later.

* * *

_**A/N: Short but I'm trying to make my way through the next sixth months so sorry for the filler but I love the reviews and general fan love. Working on the next two chapters as we speak! XD**_


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